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BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 
THE   FOUNDER   OF  AMERICAN   DIPLOMACY 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS  IN 
AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

IN  AMERICAN 

DIPLOMACY 

BY 

RALPH   W.  PAGE 


FRONTISPIECE 


Garden  City  New  York 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

1918 


Copyright,  1918,  hy 

DOUBLEDAY,    PaGK    &    CoMPANY 

All  rights  reserved,  including  that  of 

translation  into  foreign  languages, 

including  the  Scandinavian 


FOREWORD 

The  public  apathy  in  regard  to  our  foreign  policy 
and  the  cheerful  indifference  shown  by  the  majority 
of  our  people  towards  the  Diplomatic  Service  has 
had  a  baleful  influence  upon  our  country.  Even 
since  the  disclosures  of  Germany's  designs  in  the 
world  war  have  turned  attention  violently  towards 
the  realm  of  world  politics,  and  thrust  the  slumber- 
ing questions  of  our  international  rights  and  duties 
into  the  glare  of  newspaper  headlines,  the  discussion 
thus  aroused  in  our  press  and  in  our  legislatures  has 
revealed  a  comprehensive  igngrance  of  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  our  foreign  relations.  It  displays  a  total 
disregard  for  more  than  a  century  of  painstaking 
upbuilding  by  that  successful  and  farseeing  body — 
the  American  Diplomatic  Corps. 

It  is  not  and  could  not  be  the  object  of  this  volume 
to  give  a  chronological  history  of  the  diplomatic 
achievements  of 'the  United  States.  My  purpose  is 
rather  to  present  in  simple  form  a  few  of  the  most 
striking  incidents  in  the  service — to  picture  the  out- 
standing figures  and  big  dramatic  actions  in  our 
dealings  overseas  which  should  be  common  knowl- 
edge to  all  Americans,  but  is  not. 

I  have  no  fear  that  the  story  will  be  old  or  stale. 
Part  and  parcel  of  our  very  life  though  they  be,  I 
venture  that  a  large  proportion  of  both  the  actions 
and  the  principles  set  forth  will  be  not  only  new 


FOREWORD 

but  amazing  to  most  readers.  Yet  they  are  the  A 
B  C  of  American  diplomatic  history.  I  claim  no 
historical  erudition  whatever.  This  book  adds  not 
a  syllable  to  the  literature  of  the  subject,  and  it  is 
not  intended  to. 

It  is  hoped  that  perhaps  a  narrative,  told  rather 
in  the  language  of  the  man  on  the  street  than  in  the 
dignified  diction  of  the  historian,  and  setting  forth 
the  adventurous  and  dramatic  episodes  in  the  lives  of 
our  envoys,  the  plots  they  have  discovered,  the  Em- 
pires they  have  defied,  the  kingdoms  they  have 
acquired,  may  help  to  create  some  interest  in  this 
most  vital  matter.  It  is  hoped  that  it  may,  for  in- 
stance, bring  some  appreciation  of  the  mutual  inter- 
dependence between  Great  Britain  and  America.  If 
the  casual  reader  was  aware  that  under  the  guiding 
hand  of  our  Revolutionary  heroes  we  had  three  times 
before  joined  forces  with  the  Navy  of  Great  Britain 
to  face  the  predatory  forces  of  despotism,  and  had 
been  defended  by  that  Navy  from  that  day  to  this,  he 
would  be  better  prepared  to  debate  "the  freedom  of 
the  seas." 

While  this  book  does  not  pretend  to  give  even  a 
cursory  review  of  American  diplomacy,  I  hope  that, 
having  taken  this  much  of  a  glimpse  into  our  world 
situation  as  it  has  developed,  the  reader  may  acquire 
an  appetite  for  the  real  facts  in  the  case,  for  future 
reference  at  the  primaries,  and  elsewhere. 

R.  W.  P. 

Pinehurst,  N.  C. 
Feb.  8,  1918. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 
FOEEWORD .  V 

CHAPTER  I 

Benevolent  Neutrality S 

King  Louis's  Private  Messenger  Makes  a  Discovery  in  Lon- 
don—Beaumarchais,  America's  First  Friend,  Writes  a  Letter 
— A  Secret  Conference  of  State  in  Philadelphia — Timothy 
Jones,  Alias  Silas  Deane,  the  First  American  Diplomat — 
The  Continental  Arniy  Saved  by  "Roderique  Hortalez" — 
Some  Revolutionary  Correspondences  Showing  that  All  is 
Not  Neutral  that  Protests.    Clandestine  Diplomacy. 

CHAPTER  II 
"Entangling  Alliances" 25 


Enter  One  of  the  Most  Extraordinary  Men  that  Ever  Lived — 
Paris  Taken  by  Storm — An  Ambassador,  Secretary  of  State, 
War,  Navy,  and  Treasury  All  in  One — A  Courier  Arrives  in 
Paris  with  Startling  Intelligence — Comedy  of  English  and 
French  Spies— Benjamin  Franklin  and  Louis  XVI  Sign  the 
Treaty  of  Alliance— Our  Obligation  to  France. 

CHAPTER  III 

Fighting  for  Life.     The  Birth  of  a  Nation     36 

The  European  Cabal  Against  Democracy — The  United 
States  Sends  out  an  AU-American  Team — Benjamin  Frank- 
lin Plays  Fair  and  Wins  the  Applause  of  His  Opponents — 
John  Jay  Discovers  a  Plot  and  Throws  His  Instructions  to 
the  Winds— The  Part  Played  by  the  Intercepted  Dispatches 
of  Marbois  and  the  Secret  Mission  of  Reyneval  in  Ameri- 
can Independence — The  Foundations  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Solidarity. 

▼ii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV 

"Traditions  of  the  Seevice" 56 

Gouverneur  Morris  Takes  a  Hand  in  the  French  Revolution 
— His  Memorandum  to  the  King — The  Man  from  Home 
Plans  the  Escape  of  Marie  Antoinette — The  Affair  of  the 
King's  Money  and  Papers — Coaching  a  Despot  to  Play  Re- 
pubfican — The  Embassy  a  Haven  for  Condemned  Aristos — 
Invaded  by  the  Commune — The  Minister  Arrested — All  the 
Ambassadors  Leave — "Better  My  Friends  Should  Wonder 
Why  I  Stay  Than  My  Enimies  Inquire  Why  I  Went 
Away" — Morris  Stands  by  His  Post  of  Danger — The 
King's  Legacy  Delivered  in  Vienna. 

CHAPTER  V 

**T»ADITIONS    OF    THE    SeRVICe"  ....        66 

Elihu  Washburne,  Ambassador  for  the  World  During  the 
Siege  of  Paris — The  Commune  Again — History  Repeated — 
The  Empress  Eugenie  Rescued  from  the  Revolution  by  an 
American — The  Coming  of  the  Prussians — y\ll  the  Foreign 
Envoys  Pick  Up  Their  Hats  in  a  Hurry — The  Deluge  of 
Victims — The  Secret  Messenger  of  the  Royal  Family — The 
Gold  of  Prince  Murat — Counsellor  to  the  Republic — Vive 
VAm6rique — An  Embassy  Over  a  Mine  and  Under  a  Barri- 
cade. 

CHAPTER  VI 

The  Bearding  of  Bonaparte.     A  Lesson  In 

Sea-Power 7S 

Napoleon  Steals  Louisiana  from  the  "Prince  of  Peace"  and 
Organizes  an  Invasion  of  America  Out  of  His  Victorious 
Armies  Led  by  Marshal  Victor  of  "The  Terrible  Regi- 
ment"— Thomas  Jefferson,  Pacifist,  Turns  a  Political  Somer- 
sault— Rufus  King  Holds  a  Momentous  Conference  in  I^on- 
don — Robert  Livingston  Throws  a  Challenge  in  the  Face 
of  a  Great  Conqueror — Napoleon  in  His  Bath-Tub  Makes 
History — James  Monroe  Goes  to  Purchase  a  Town  and 
Returns  with  a  Kingdom — America  Saved  by  the  British 
Fleet 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  VII    . 

The  Humiliation  of  Impotence.     A  Study 
In  Pieacy 96 

The  "Shadow  of  God"  and  "Emulator  of  Alexander"  Writes 
a  Dispatch  to  "The  Amiable  James  Monroe,  Emperor  of 
America" — Courtly  Frightfulness  vs.  Truculent  Pacifism — 
John  Adams  has  a  Pleasant  Chat  with  a  Pirate  in  London — 
An  Algerian  Price  List .  of  American  Sailors — Boston  Ma- 
riners Left  in  Turkish  Slavery — The  Diplomatic  Triumph  of 
a  Courteous  Murderer — Blackmail  the  Alternative  of  a 
Navy — The  Portrait  of  George  Washington — Stephen 
Decatur  Demonstrates  the  Persuasive  Value  of  Gunpowder 
in  Diplomatic  Discourse. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Battle   for   Democracy.     An   Anglo- 
Saxon  Inheritance     .      .      .      .      .      .      .117 

George  Canning  Reveals  a  Plot  for  the  Extermination  of 
Democracy— Richard  Rush  Sends  James  Monroe  a  Literary 
Bomb-Shell — The  Emperors  of  Europe  Combine  for  Con- 
quest of  America — The  Duke  of  Wellington  Proves  a  Tartar 
— England  Makes  a  Proposition — Thomas  JeiFerson  Proposes 
to  Marry  the  British  Fleet— The  Solid  Front  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon — James  Monroe  Throws  Down  a  Challenge  to  Roy- 
alty—Ambitions Sunk  in  the  Waters  of  Trafalgar. 

CHAPTER  IX 

Publicity  vs.  Duplicity.     The  Intrigues  of 

AN  Emperor 130 

A  Mysterious  Stranger  Appears  at  the  Paris  Consulate  with 
Proof  of  an  Imperial  Plot— The  Iron-Clad  Rams  of  Na- 
poleon III— The  Death  Knell  of  the  Fleet  and  the  Threatened 
Bombardment  of  New  York— The  Intrigues  of  an  Emperor 
— The  Fallacy  of  Neutrality — The  Diplomatic  Methods  of 
John  Bigelow — A  Cunning  Ruse — The  Planted  Dispatch — 
The  Collapse  of  the  Conspiracy. 


X  CONTENTS 

.      CHAPTER  X 

The  "Tkent"  Affair 150 

Righting  an  Old  Wronff — Introducing  an  Ultimatum,  In- 
cluding the  Story  of  a  Hold-Up  at  Sea — Two  Ambassadors 
Captured  and  Imprisoned  in  Fort  Warren,  Boston — A  Les- 
son in  International  Law  Proves  an  Example  of  Interna- 
tional Joke — A  National  Celebration — A  National  Indigna- 
tion— A  National  Retraction — Abraham  Lincoln's  Way — 
Anecdotes  vs.  the  Rattling  Sabre — A  Conference  of  State — 
Salmon  P.  Chase  States  a  Principle. 

CHAPTER  XI 

Coaching  China .   167 

The  Everlasting  Problem  of  "The  Inferior  Race."  Conflict 
of  "Manifest  Destiny"  and  "The  Square  Deal"— A  Crisis  in 
the  Orient — The  "Powers"  Rig  an  Action  Against  the  Celes- 
tial Kingdom,  Backing  the  Advance  of  the  Caucasian  Drum- 
mer— Anson  Burlingame,  Back  Bay  Politician,  Takes  the 
Case  of  China — The  Fate  of  a  Continent  in  His  Hands — An 
Ambassador  to  All  the  World — His  Treaty  with  Seward — 
A  Convention  with  Lord  Clarendon — 'The  Triumphant  Dipn 
lomatic  Conquest  of  Two  Emperors  and.  the  Iron  Chancellor. 

CHAPTER  XII 

"A  Duty  to   Humanity."     The  End  of  an 

Empire 196 

The  Diplomacy  of  the  War  with  Spain — The  Crime  of  Na- 
tional Pride  and  Procrastination — The  Verdict  of  History — 
The  Plight  of  Cuba — Revolution  Engineered  in  New  York — 
Mutual  Cruelties — American  "Pirates" — Cleveland's  Firm 
Hand— Woodford  vs.  Sagasta,  a  Triumph  of  Fair  Play- 
Concessions  Made  by  Spain — "Home  Rule" — Removal  of 
Weyler — "Autonomy"— Revocation  of  Recdncentration — Isa- 
bel's Despair — The  Intervention  of  the  Pope — Final  Conces- 
sions and  Armistice — "Remember  the  Maine" — An  Inter- 
cepted Insult — The  Recalled  Minister  and  the  Fateful  ^les- 
sage  to  Congress — A  Tribute  to  Spanish  Courtesy. 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  XIII 

The  Coup  d'etat.     The  Inside  Stoey  of  Pan- 
ama   2^7 

The  Man  Behind  the  Revolution — Room  1162,  Waldorf-As- 
toria, The  Liberty  Hall  of  Panama — Bmiau-Varilla  Goes 
Scouting  in  Washington — The  Three  Horns  of  the  Panama 
Dilemma — Reading  the  Future  Actions  of  the  Government — 
Playing  with  Destiny — A  Kingdom  for  a  Warship — Victory 
on  the  Isthmus — "Time  is  or  the  Essence" — Intrigue  and 
Procrastination  Squelched  by  Theodore  Roosevelt — ^The  Dra- 
matic Finish  in  John  Hay's  Residence. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Some  Lessons  in  Civility     .      .      .      .      .      .   260 

Premonitions — The  King  of  Prussia's  Precious  Doctrines  in 
1823 — The  Oppressed  Revolutionists  of  Germany— D6but  of 
the  Prussian  Bully  in  Samoa— The  Emperor's  Fatal  Birth- 
day—The Advent  of  the  Famous  Formula:  "Impossible  Ul- 
timatum, Instant  Defensive  Invasion,  and  Annexation" — 
Leary  of  the  Adams  Takes  a  Hand— ^chrechlichkeit  Foiled 
by  Hurricaiie — "The  Organization  of  Failure  in  the  Midst  of 
Hate"— Wh}'  the  Kaiser  Did  Not  Take  Uncle  Sam  "By  the 
ScrufP  of  tht  Neck"— "If  You  Want  a  Fight,  You  Can  Have 
It  Now"— Roosevelt  Calls  the  Teuton  Bluff— A  Case  of  Arbi- 
tration—Designs on  the  Caribbean— An  Opinion  by  John 
Hay. 


1 

i 


r^ 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS  IN 
AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY 


CHAPTER  ONE 

BENEVOLENT  NEUTRALITY 

King  Louis's  Private  Messenger  Makes  a  Discovery 
in  London — Beaumarchais,  America's  First  Friend, 
Writes  a  Letter — A  Secret  Conference  of  State  in 
Philadelphia — Timothy  Jones,  Alias  Silas  Deane,  the 
First  American  Diplomat — The  Continental  Army 
Saved  by  "Roderique  Hortalez." — Some  Revolution- 
ary Correspondence  Showing  that  All  is  Not  Neutral 
that  Protests.     Clandestine  Diplomacy. 

SECRET  diplomacy  is  almost  a' lost  art. 
The  HohenzoUerns  still  affect  a  fond- 
ness for  this  most  thrilling  and  romantic 
pastime.  But  the  HohenzoUern  ministers 
have  not  been  able  to  achieve  the  dizzy  heights 
of  deception  and  the  infinite  finesse  and  deli- 
cate touch  which  were  the  characteristics  of  the 
fine  game  of  intrigue  and  counter-plot  as  con- 
cocted in  the  mystic  chambers  of  subtle  cardi- 
nals and  imaginative  ministers  of  the  Talley- 
rand period  a  hundred  years  ago.     Then  a 


4  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

government  envoy  had  as  many  disguises  as 
Stillman  Hunt,  the  detective,  and  might  be  dis- 
closed any  time  as  his  enemy's  chief  of  staff,  or 
his  confidential  secretary. 

In  1775  a  temporary  peace  prevailed  in  the 
world.  The  French  Ambassador  in  London, 
entirely  surrounded  by  spies,  went  his  innocu- 
ous and  pompous  way.  But  meantime  a  singu- 
lar individual  was  in  London  laying  the  train 
of  the  Bourbon  revenge  for  the  loss  of  Canada. 
In  subtle  and  successful  guise  he  was  accom- 
pUshing  precisely  what  the  Prussian,  Kiihl- 
mann,  attempted  in  1914.  He  spent  his  time 
singing  duets  with  the  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs  and  displaying  an  amazing  talent  in  fri- 
volity, in  droll  stories,  in  desperate  and  amus- 
ing nocturnal  intrigues.  He  was  a  play- 
wright of  the  first  water  by  way  of  diversion;  a 
plotter  of  inordinate  devices  and  imagination, 
a  master  of  dramatic  language  on  all  occasions, 
and  absolutely  without  reputation. 

His  history  as  an  agent  of  the  French  kings 
is  more  replete  with  masquerades,  adventure, 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY      5 

ridiculous  and  dangerous  situations,  clandes- 
tine assignations,  deadly  secrets,  and  compli- 
cated intrigue  than  any  novel  ever  written. 
Single  handed  he  had  recovered  the  notorious 
libel  "Memoirs  of  Madame  du  Barry"  from  a 
colossal  scoundrel  in  London,  after  a  brigade 
of  French  secret  police  had  failed  in  the  most 
humihating  manner.  Bearing  the  king's  com- 
mission in  a  gold  box  hung  around  his  neck  he 
had  set  out  from  Nuremburg  on  the  trail  of  a 
Jew  who  held  for  sale  scandalous  secrets  of 
Marie  Antoinette — the  living  counterpart  of 
those'  Gascon  characters  whose  incredible  ad- 
ventures fill  the  pages  of  French  fiction.  He 
fell  upon  his  prey  at  the  entrance  of  the  forest 
of  Neustadt.  He  was  in  turn  attacked  by 
three  assassins.  He  tottered  into  the  court  of 
Vienna  and  was  held  there  in  prison  a  year  as 
a  dangerous  liar.  But  he  saved  the  papers. 
And  now  as  our  history  opens  he  was  once 
more  in  London,  transacting  the  tortuous  and 
lurid  diplomacy  of  the  Bourbon  Court.  He 
was  there  negotiating  with  another  secret  agent 


6  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

of  the  coiirt  for  a  box  of  letters  of  Louis  XV, 
said  to  incriminate  the  French  nation  beyond 
recall.  Recollect  that  this  other  agent  was  the 
Chevalier  d'Eau,  who  had  originally  gone  to 
the  Russian  Court  disguised  as  a  woman,  and 
who  at  this  time,  to  the  scandal  and  astonish- 
ment of  Christendom,  was  declaring  that  in 
fact  he  was  a  woman,  and  you  will  perceive 
what  a  funny,  dreadful,  and  entertaining  char- 
acter this  fellow  was. 

His  name  was  Pierre  Augustin  Caron  de 
Beaumarchais.  So  much  for  one  side  of  this 
actor — the  ridiculous  and  entertaining  side  pre- 
sented to  Lord  Rochfort  and  the  American 
Committee  on  Secret  Correspondence.  The 
other  side  is  painted  thus  by  a  great  French 
historian : 

"A  man  of  ardent  and  daring  mind,  of  rest- 
less and  stormy  renown,  of  questionable  char- 
acter and  of  prodigious  activity.  *  *  *  The 
heir  presumptive  of  Voltaire  and  the  success- 
ful conqueror  of  the  Maupeou  Parliament." 

Unknown  to  his  own  ambassador,  totally 


4 


IX  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY      7 

without  standing  or  presentable  authority,  lia- 
ble to  be  repudiated  by  his  master  and  to  have 
"his  throat  cut  like  a  sheep"  for  any  mistake  or 
discovery,  this  capable  vagabond  manipulated 
the  strings  of  the  machine  which  developed  into 
the  most  powerful  influence  for  fair  practice 
among  nations  ever  yet  seen  in  the  world — 
American  diplomacy.  He  not  only  believed 
the  world  to  be  a  stage,  but  wrote  the  piece 
himself,  and  acted  it;  performing  both  func- 
tions in  the  most  intensely  dramatic  and  inter- 
esting style. 

So  it  inevitably  happened  that  he  crossed  the 
trail  of  Arthur  Lee^  an  agent  of  the  Conti- 
nentals in  England  in  the  early  days  of  our 
Revolution.  King  Louis  was  shortly  in- 
formed what  action  a  really  wise  king  should 
take.  The  French  were  at  peace  with  Eng- 
land, to  be  sure.  And  there  were  certain  pre- 
vailing ideas  upon  the  subject  of  neutrality, 
then  as  now.  But  to  a  mind  as  versatile  as 
Caron's  such  impediments  are  negUgible.  See 
how  it  is  done. 


8  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

(Translation  of   Undated  Memorandum   of 
Car  on  de  Beaumarchais,  Adven- 
turer at  Large) 
To  The  King  Only 
Sire: 

When  considerations  of  State  impel  you  to 
extend  a  helping  hand  to  the  Americans,  pol- 
icy requires  that  Your  Majesty  proceed  with 
such  caution,  that  aid  secretly  conveyed  to 
America  may  not  become  in  Europe  a  brand  to 
kindle  strife  between  France  and  England. 
Above  all,  it  is  the  part  of  prudence  to  be 
certain  that  the  money  cannot  possibly  pass 
into  other  hands  than  those  of  your  choice. 
Moreover,  since  the  present  state  of  the 
finances  does  not  at  once  permit  of  as  great  an 
expenditure  as  events  seem  to  require,  it  is  my 
duty.  Sire,  to  submit  to  your  judgment  the  fol- 
lowing plan,  having  for  its  principal  object, 
under  the  semblance  of  a  purely  conmiercial 
affair,  to  remove  all  suspicion  that  Your 
Majesty  or  your  Majesty's  Council  are  at  all 
interested  in  the  matter. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY      9 

This  plan,  in  execution,  unites  with  many 
other  advantages  the  power  of  retarding  or 
accelerating  the  course  of  these  supplies  as 
your  prudence  may  dictate,  and  according  as 
the  situation  of  the  Americans  becomes  more 
or  less  pressing,  with  the  result  that  these  aids, 
wisely  administered,  will  serve  not  so  much  to 
terminate  the  war  between  America  and  Eng- 
land, as  to  sustain  and  keep  it  alive  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  English,  our  natural  and  pro- 
noimced  enemies. 

Let  us  consider  the  details  of  the  scheme. 
The  unvarying  impression  of  this  aif air  to  the 
majority  of  the  Congress,  should  be  the  delu- 
sion that  Your  Majesty  has  nothing  to  do  with 
it  but  that  a  company  is  about  to  entrust  a  cer- 
tain sum  to  the  prudence  of  a  trusted  agent  to 
furnish  continuous  aid  to  the  Americans,  by 
the  promptest  and  surest  methods  *  *  *  in 
exchange  for  returns  in  the  shape  of  tobacco. 
Secrecy  is  the  essence  of  all  the  rest. 

•  •  •  •  •  •  • 

Your  Majesty  will  begin  by  placing  one 


10         DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

million  at  the  disposal  of  your  agent,  who  will 
style  himself  Roderique  Hortalez  &  Company, 
this  being  the  signatm-e  and  title  of  the  firm 
under  which  I  have  agreed  to  conduct  the  en- 
tire business.  One  half  of  this  siun,  changed 
into  moidores  or  Portuguese  pieces,  the  only 
foreign  money  that  passes  in  America,  will  be 
immediately  forwarded  thither. 

Roderique  Hortalez  intends  to  use  the  re- 
maining half  million  in  procuring  powder,  and 
conveying  it  without  delay  to  the  Americans. 
Instead,  however,  of  buying  this  powder  in 
Holland,  or  even  in  France,  at  the  cm^rent 
prices  of  20  or  30  sols  tournois  a  pound,  the 
price  at  which  the  Dutch  hold  it,  or  even  higher, 
when  supplying  the  Americans,  the  real  device 
of  the  operation  consisting  as  Roderique  Hor- 
talez hopes,  in  secretly  procuring,  with  the 
sanction  of  Your  Majesty,  all  necessary  pow- 
der and  saltpetre  of  your  Registrars,  on  a  basis 
of  from  five  to  six  sols  a  pound. 

Before  terminating  this  paper  I  wish  to 
hazard  an  idea  suggested  during  its  compo- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    11 

sition,  namely,  that  it  would  be  a  pretty  thing 
to  aid  the  Americans  with  Enghsh  money. 
Neither  is  this  difficult. 

It  would  suffice  should  Your  Majesty, 
adopting  an  English  usage  that  exacts  a  tax 
of  75  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on  all  French 
vehicles  entering  England  at  Dover,  decree 
that  in  future  all  foreign  vehicles  and  horses 
landed  at  our  ports  shall  pay  a  tax  equal  to 
that  levied  on  ours  when  entering  England. 
•  ••■••  • 

By  putting  in  practice  this  conceit,  Your 
Majesty  would  have  the  pleasure  of  using  for 
the  rehef  of  the  Americans  the  very  money 
squeezed  out  of  the  English,  and  this  seems  to 
me  to  be  quite  an  agreeable  consideration,  and, 
so  to  speak,  like  planting  a  few  flowers  amid 
the  dry  waste  of  explanations  of  the  output, 
return,  and  profits  of  the  commercial  capital 
of  the  firm  of  Hortalez,  of  which  Your  Majesty 
is  about  to  become  the  sole  proprietor.  *  *  * 
Caeon  de  Beaumarchais. 


12  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

From  this  document  dates  the  dawn  of 
American  diplomacy  and  the  tide  of  events 
leading  to  support,  alliance,  independence,  and 
greatness.  The  next  exhibit  proves  that  the 
King  and  his  counsel  took  the  advice  to  heart — 
not  forgetting  the  precautions  of  secrecy.  On 
May  2,  1776,  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs 
sent  this  illuminating  letter  to  His  Majesty: 

Sire: 

I  have  the  honour  of  submitting  to  your 
majesty  the  writing  authorizing  me  to  furnish 
a  million  of  lives  for  the  service  of  the  English 
Colonies,  if  you  should  deign  to  ratify  it  with 
your  signature.  I  add  to  this,  Sire,  the  draft 
of  the  reply  which  I  mean  to  make  to  M.  de 
Beaumarchais.  If  your  majesty  should  ap- 
prove of  it,  I  beg  that  it  may  be  returned  to 
me  without  delay.  It  shall  not  go  forth  in  my 
handwriting,  nor  in  that  of  any  of  my  clerks 
or  secretaries;  I  will  employ  that  of  my  son, 
which  cannot  be  known;  and  although  he  is 
only  in  his  fifteenth  year,  I  can  answer  posi- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    13 

lively  for  his  discretion.  As  it  is  of  conse- 
quence that  this  operation  should  not  be  de- 
tected, or  at  least  imputed  to  the  government, 
I  propose,  if  your  majesty  consents,  to  call 
hither  the  Sieur  Montaudoin. 

And  meantime  it  happened  that  a  genial 
Frenchman  of  leisure  quite  casually  turned  up 
in  Philadelphia  calling  upon  his  old  friend 
Francis  Daymon,  librarian  of  the  Philadelphia 
library.  He  came  from  England  and  v^as 
filled  with  curiosity  and  good  will.  What  was 
more  natural  than  that  this  visitor,  M.  Bon- 
vouloir,  should  be  introduced  to  the  famous 
philosopher,  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  American  Secret  Committee  on 
Correspondence  with  Foreign  Powers?  He 
showed  such  an  interest  in  the  struggling  Con- 
gress that  the  members  of  the  Committee  met 
him  in  a  secluded  place  after  dark,  each  ar- 
riving by  a  different  road.  He  told  them  that 
he  could  promise,  offer,  and  answer  for  noth- 
ing, and  that  he  was  merely  acting  as  a  well- 


14  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

disposed  individual;  but  that  he  believed 
France  wished  them  well  and  that  he  would 
give  them  the  advantage  of  his  large  acquaint- 
ance in  Paris,  to  insure  any  requests  they 
might  have  to  present  at  court. 

Thereupon,  our  forefathers  decided  to  send 
an  agent  into  the  nest  of  intrigue  at  Versailles 
to  get  what  they  could  from  the  French.  Our 
forefathers  were  the  most  straightforward 
men  to  be  found  in  any  capital  in  the  world — 
at  this  or  any  other  time.  But  they  were  re- 
bellious subjects  of  the  King,  just  the  same, 
and  not  entirely  lacking  in  knowledge  of  the 
ways  of  the  world. 

In  consequence,  Mr.  Timothy  Jones,  a  mer- 
chant from  the  Island  of  Bermuda,  arrived  in 
Bordeaux,  France,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1776. 
He  made  no  secret  of  the  fact  that  he  was  bent 
upon  purchasing  certain  gimcracks  for  the  In- 
dian trade.  What  he  neglected  to  mention 
was  that  when  last  seen  across  the  water  he  had 
been  known  as  Silas  Deane,  representative  in 
Congress  from  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    15 

that  hidden  about  his  person  were  letters  in- 
structing him  to  purchase  supplies  for  a  rebel- 
lious army  from  the  benevolent  and  neutral 
government  of  France.  His  letters,  although 
scrupulously  opened  by  neighbouring  English- 
men of  an  inquisitve  disposition,  would  hardly 
reveal  the  fact,  the  pith  of  them  being  invisible 
except  to  the  eyes  of  John  Jay,  of  New  York, 
who  had  a  special  acid  to  display  the  writing. 
Now  he  had  been  told  to  look  up  a  Dr.  Du- 
bourg  in  Paris,  one  of  the  innumerable  high- 
minded  and  capable  men  that  were  followers 
of  Franklin  in  all  parts  of  Europe,  and  to  con- 
fide in  him  and  in  one  Mr.  Edward  Bancroft. 
He  was  deb'ghted  to  find  that  Bancroft  had 
arrived  befox^e  he  had,  and  to  discover  both 
gentlemen  awaiting  his  coming.  He  would 
probably  have  been  less  delighted  if  he  could 
have  seen  the  full  and  exhaustive  report  of  his 
right  name,  his  antecedents,  his  lodgings,  and 
even  the  minutest  details  of  his  private  instruc- 
tions which  the  genial  Mr.  Bancroft  placed  at 
once  in  the  hands  of  the  infuriated  ambassa- 


16  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

dor  of  Great  Britain.  That  gentleman,  Lord 
Stormont,  lost  no  time  in  warning  Vergennes, 
the  French  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs, 
against  the  pernicious  rebel. 

Now,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Dubourg,  who 
was  a  familiar  of  the  court,  told  him  that  the 
ministers  would  not  see  him,  and  meant  to  keep 
secret  any  countenance  they  gave  the  United 
Colonies,  Deane,  like  the  intrepid  Yankee  he 
was,  fared  forth  to  the  awesome  palace  of  Ver- 
sailles and  presented  his  commission  to  Ver- 
gennes himself.  There  would  probably  have 
been  less  discussion  had  he  known  that  the 
genial  M.  Bonvouloir  had  gone  straight  from 
the  King's  antechamber  for  no  other  purpose 
in  the  world  than  to  bring  Deane  before  the 
King. 

Vergennes  was  a  past  master  and  post 
graduate  of  the  game  of  diplomacy.  He  was 
familiar  with  the  document — ^unique  among 
state  papers  of  the  first  order,  in  that  it  was 
both  entertaining  and  witty  as  well  as  able 
and  daring — already  quoted  as  having  been 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    17 

submitted  to  King  Louis  a  short  while  before 
by  the  inimitable  librettist.  Conson^t  with 
this  policy,  the  secretary  told  Deane\hat  he 
was  charmed  with  the  United  Colonies,  but 
was  a  stickler  for  his  duties  toward  Great  Brit- 
ain. However,  he  suggested  casually  that  it 
was  none  of  his  business  to  interfere  with  pri- 
vate affairs,  and  that  Roderique  Hortalez  & 
Company,  a  large  Spanish  mercantile  house  in 
Paris,  might  be  of  some  service. 

So  let  us  repair  to  Hortalez  &  Co.  by  all 
means.  It  was  an  imposing  concern,  from 
outward  view.  It  occupied  the  Hotel  de  Hol- 
lande  in  the  Faubourg  du  Temple,  a  sumptu- 
ous edifice  built  by  the  Dutch  to  house  the 
Netherlands  embassy. 

Who  was  M.  Hortalez?  Oh,  he  was  a  very 
great  financier  indeed.  He  was  a  Spanish 
nobleman  of  Castile,  nothing  less.  He  was  a 
gentleman  in  private  hfe,  who  in  spite  of  his 
far-reaching  feudal  ties  and  princely  relations 
had  the  most  unaccountable  benevolent  tend- 
encies toward  budding  Democracies*     He  was, 


18  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

moreover,  by  happy  chance,  a  dealer  in  mus- 
kets, bombs,  powder,  cutlasses,  brass  cannon, 
bayonets.  He  had  on  hand  enough  uniforms, 
shoes,  hats  and  such  to  equip  an  army,  if  any 
such  should  happen  into  his  store.  Could  he 
be  seen?  Why,  not  just  at  the  moment.  He 
was  at  home  in  his  chateau  studying  his  illus- 
trious family  tree.  But  his  confidential  agent 
was  right  inside. 

Of  course  it  was  the  writer  of  the  plot,  none 
other  than  the  versatile  M.  de  Beaumarchais 
himself.  Roderique  Hortalez,  the  great  Span- 
ish godfather  and  providential  angel  of  the 
rebellion  must  have  fallen  from  a  cliff  into  the 
sea.  For  nobody  has  ever  seen  him  from  that 
day  to  this. 

Possibly  he  was  quite  content  to  have  his 
business  entirely  run  by  so  able  a  lieutenant 
and  upon  such  classic  lines,  worthy  of  the  best 
traditions  of  the  Comedie  Fran^aise. 

The  success  of  this  neat  little  arrangement 
and  its  enormous  importance  to  our  Revolution 
can  best  be  demonstrated  by  those  dispatches 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    19 

of  the  day  which  managed  to  evade  the  British 
patrol,  and  come  down  into  the  records  of  the 
Department. 

Silas  Deane  to  Committee  on  Secret  Cor- 

bespondence. 

"Paris,  August,  2,  1776. 

*  *  *  I  hope  that  it  will  be  considered  that 
one  hundred  field  pieces,  and  arms,  clothing, 
and  accoutrements,  with  military  stores  for 
twenty-five  thousand  men,  is  a  large  affair,  and 
that,  although  I  am  promised  any  credit,  yet  as 
they  must  be  paid  for,  the  sooner  the  better,  if 
to  be  done  without  too  great  a  risk." 

Considering  that  the  Continental  Army  at 
no  one  time  mustered  half  this  many  men — 
and  considering  that  they  had  no  supplies  at 
all— the  importance  of  this  transaction  becomes 
apparent.  The  source  of  this  windfall  was  re- 
vealed in  a  letter  the  following  18th  of  August. 
Probably  no  more  welcome  news  was  ever  con- 
veyed in  a  letter  from  foreign  parts. 


20  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

To  THE  Committee  on  Secret  Correspond- 
ence, Philadelphia. 

"Paris,  August  18,  1776. 
Gentlemen: 

The  respectful  esteem  that  I  bear  toward 
that  brave  people  who  so  well  defend  their  lib- 
erty under  your  conduct  has  induced  me  to 
form  a  plan  concurring  in  this  great  work, 
by  establishing  an  extensive  commercial  house, 
solely  for  the  purpose  of  serving  you  in  Eu- 
rope, there  to  supply  you  with  necessaries  of 
every  sort,  to  furnish  you  expeditiously  and 
certainly  with  all  articles — clothes,  linens, 
powder,  ammunition,  muskets,  cannon,  or  even 
gold  for  the  payment  of  your  troops,  and  in 
general  everything  that  can  be  useful  for  the 
honourable  war  in  which  you  are  engaged. 
Your  deputies,  gentlemen,  will  find  in  me  a 
sure  friend,  an  asylum  in  my  house,  money  in 
my  coffers,  and  every  means  of  facilitating 
their  operations,  whether  of  a  public  or  secret 
nature.     I  will,  if  possible,  remove  all  obstacles 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    21 

that  may  oppose  your  wishes  from  the  politics 
of  Europe." 

Undoubtedly  neutrality  of  such  benevolence 
has  never  been  seen  before  or  since.  The  Con- 
gress might  view  these  literary  protestations 
with  the  distrust  the  average  man  always  has 
for  fine  phrases  or  signs  of  cleverness ;  but  they 
could  not  help  appreciating  the  next  para- 
graph. 

"At  this  very  time,  and  without  waiting  for 
any  answer  from  you,  I  have  procured  for  you 
about  two  hundred  pieces  of  brass  cannon, 
four-pounders,  which  will  be  sent  to  you  by  the 
nearest  way,  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  of 
cannon  powder,  twenty  thousand  excellent 
fusils,  some  brass  mortars,  bombs,  cannon  balls, 
bayonets,  platines,  clothes,  linens,  etc.,  for  the 
clothing  of  your  troops,  and  lead  for  musket 
balls.  An  officer  of  the  greatest  merit  for  ar- 
tillery and  genius,  accompanied  by  lieutenants, 
officers,  artillerists,  cannoniers,  etc.,  whom  we 


22  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

think  necessary  for  the  service,  will  go  to  Phil- 
adelphia, even  before  you  have  received  my 
first  dispatch.  *  *  *    R.  Hortalez  &  Co." 

In  order  to  repay  this  debt  in  kind  to-day, 
we  should  have  to  send  to  France  approxi- 
mately two  hundred  thousand  six-inch  guns 
and  equipment  for  two  million  and  a  half 
troops. 


CHAPTER  TWO 

"ENTANGLING  ALLIANCES" 

Enter  One  of  the  Most  Extraordinary  Men  that  Ever 
Lived — Paris  Taken  by  Storm — ^An  Ambassador, 
Secretary  of  State,  War,  Navy,  and  Treasury  All  in 
One — ^A  Courier  Arrives  in  Paris  with  Startling  In- 
telligence— Comedy  of  English  and  French  Spies — 
Benjamin  Franklin  and  Louis  XVI  Sign  the  Treaty 
of  Alliance — Our  Obligation  to  France. 

MEANTIME,  Lord  Stormont,  the 
British  Ambassador,  had  not  been 
idle.  He  penetrated  the  elaborate 
subterfuges  and  disguises  by  which  King 
Louis,  Deane,  and  Hortalez  &  Co.,  made 
shift  to  outfit  the  Continental  Army  and  still 
keep  up  an  appearance  of  French  neutrality, 
and  was  in  a  fair  way  to  nip  the  scheme  in  the 
bud,  when  there  swept  into  the  arena  one  of 
the  greatest  diplomats  of  all  time.  He  was 
not  only  above  disguise  and  deceit,  all  tricks 

23 


24  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

and  factions,  but  above  all  party  lines  at  home 
and  national  boundaries  abroad. 

Being  in  the  midst  of  war  to-day,  we  can  ap- 
preciate the  more  the  amazing  power  wielded  by 
this  eccentric  gentleman  of  seventy  summers, 
who  appeared  in  Paris  in  1776,  clad  in  a  plain 
brown  suit  which  the  courtiers  thought  was  the 
dress  of  an  "American  cultivator."  He  not 
only  appeared  at  court — he  took  the  court  and 
the  whole  nation  by  storm.  Listen  to  some 
contemporary  accoimts. 

"His  straight,  unpowdered  hair,  his  round 
hat,  his  brown  coat,  formed  a  contrast  with  the 
laced  and  embroidered  coats  and  the  powdered 
and  perfumed  heads  of  the  courtiers  of  Ver- 
sailles. This  novelty  turned  the  enthusiastic 
heads  of  the  French  women.  Elegant  enter- 
tainments were  given  him.  *  *  *  I  was  pres- 
ent at  one  of  these  entertainments,  when  the 
most  beautiful  woman  of  three  hundred  was 
selected  to  place  a  crown  of  laurels  upon  the 
head  of  the  American  philosopher  and  two 
kisses  upon  his  cheeks." 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    25 

"His  reputation  was  more  universal  than 
that  of  Liebnitz  or  Newton,  Frederick  or  Vol- 
taire, and  his  character  more  beloved  and  es- 
teemed than  any  or  all  of  them.  *  *  *  His 
name  was  familiar  to  government  and  people, 
to  foreign  countries,  nobility,  clergy,  and  phi- 
losophers, as  well  as  plebeians  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  there  was  scarcely  a  peasant  or  a 
citizen,  a  valet  de  chambre,  a  coachman  or 
footman,  a  lady's  chambermaid  or  a  scullion 
in  a  kitchen,  who  was  not  familiar  with  it,  and 
who  did  not  consider  him  a  friend  to  human 
kind." 

The  remarkable  thing  about  this  was,  that 
the  "sculhon  in  the  kitchen"  was  right — as 
every  chancellor  in  Europe  knew. 

There  was  no  more  need  or  use  of  secrecy. 
All  England  rang  with  the  news.  Lord  Rock- 
ingham declared  that  this  diplomat's  arrival  in 
France  was  a  serious  blow  to  Great  Britain, 
more  than  counterbalancing  the  British  victory 
on  Long  Island  and  the  capture  of  New  York. 
It  was  a  common  saying  in  London  that  he 


26  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

was  of  more  value  to  the  Americans  than  all 
the  privateers  they  had  sent  out. 

All  this,  of  course,  was  not  because  he  was 
the  idol  of  the  Queen  and  the  coachman,  nor 
even  because  he  was  soon  established  in  one  of 
the  most  exclusive  country  places  in  the  en- 
virons of  Paris  and  treated  by  Vergennes  more 
like  the  final  authority  than  as  a  suppliant  from 
a  struggling  rebelKon.  It  was  because  not 
only  a  large  body  of  the  English  public,  but  by 
far  the  most  powerful  in  brains  and  leader- 
ship, regarded  him  openly  as  one  of  the  great 
leaders  of  the  English  race.  He  presented  the 
amazing  spectacle  of  the  arch  rebel  and  enemy 
of  the  country  openly  working  for  the  inde- 
pendence of  a  province,  and  for  the  downfall 
of  those  in  power,  in  intimate  and  daily  cor- 
respondence with  leaders  of  the  opposition,  the 
scientists,  advanced  thinkers,  liberal  politi- 
cians, and  cultivated  circles  in  all  parts  of  the 
British  Kingdom. 

There  was  no  man  so  familiar  with  and 
observant  of  English  politics  as  he.     This  was 


"^^ 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    27 

Benjamin  Franklin,  whom  Matthew  Arnold 
called  the  incarnation  of  sanity  and  clear  sense, 
and  of  whom  Sir  Samuel  Romilly  said: 

"Of  all  the  celebrated  persons  whom  in  my 
life  I  have  chanced  to  see.  Dr.  Franklin,  both 
from  his  appearance  and  conversation,  seemed 

^  to  me  the  most  remarkable,  *  *  *  he  im- 
pressed me  with  an  opinion  of  him  as  one 

?  of  the  most  extraordinary  men  that  ever  ex- 
isted." 

I         Not  only  was  he  an  extraordinary  diplomat, 

I  but  one  of  the  most  successful.  Those  who 
believe  that  written  rules  and  precedents 
bound  in  calfskin  constitute  diplomacy — or 
that  a  great  ambassador  is  a  kind  of  sharp 

^  special  pleader  sent  out  to  drive  as  shrewd  a 
material  bargain  as  possible  with  the  "enemy" 
— would  do  well  to  read  the  procedure  of  this 
I  father  and  master  of  all  American  statecraft. 
His  enormous  strength,  carped  at  by  all  petty 
partisans  of  his  time,  consisted  in  an  attitude 
toward  his  opponents  so  obviously  fair  and 
sympathetic,  so  generously  conciliatory  and 
humanly  honest,  that  he  quickly  became  not 


^^ai*^. 


28  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

so  much  a  negotiator  as  a  mediator.  His  eon- 
duct,  diametrically  opposite  to  that  popularly 
supposed  to  be  correct  for  an  ambassador — 
with  his  demands  and  his  dignity  and  his  coun- 
try's honour  and  paramount  interests  and  the 
rest  of  it — was  that  of  a  just  and  tolerant 
neighbour  rather  than  that  of  an  attorney  for 
the  plaintiflF. 

We  shall  see  how  this  tremendous  conception 
became  eventually  responsible  for  the  healing 
of  the  breach  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  family,  and 
the  foundation  of  America  as  a  world-power 
knit  to  a  rejuvenated  and  liberated  England, 
instead  of  a  seaboard  province  henmied  in  by 
the  colonies  of  the  Bourbons. 

He  arrived  with  instructions  to  make  a  com- 
mercial treaty  with  France — and  to  obtain  such 
recognition  as  he  could  for  the  new  Republic. 
Joined  with  him  in  this  enterprise  were  Deane 
and  Lee,  supernumeraries  in  a  hindering  ca- 
pacity. The  French  were  by  no  means  ready 
to  come  out  into  the  open  with  active  assistance. 
So  while  diplomacy  languished  this  himiorous 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    29 

old  gentleman  of  seventy  took  upon  himself 
tasks  beside  which  even  the  immense  volume  of 
business  thrown  upon  our  embassies  at  the  out- 
break of  the  World  War  was  a  bagatelle. 

He  became  the  principal  financier  of  the 
bankrupt  Colonies.  On  leaving  home  he  had 
subscribed  every  cent  of  his  own  cash  to  the 
first  Liberty  Loan.  And  upon  reaching  his 
exalted  post,  instead  of  remittances  for  salary, 
he  received  innumerable  drafts  drawn  on  him 
by  Congress.  This  was  the  only  way  Congress 
had  of  getting  any  money.  It  drew  on  Frank- 
lin to  pay  for  its  powder  and  its  cannon,  its 
ships  and  its  seamen,  its  uniforms  and  its  sup- 
plies. Who  on  earth  was  to  take  this  melan- 
choly paper  of  a  desperate  adventure,  they 
did  not  know.  But  Franklin  responded,  first 
to  last,  with  52,000,000  francs.  Wharton,  the 
great  authority  on  International  Law,  says 
that  he  exercised  the  function  of  Secretary  of 
State  and  of  the  Treasury  in  assuming  these 
duties;  of  Secretary  of  War  in  purchasing  and 
forwarding  supplies,  and  in  recruiting  officers 


30  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

and  men;  of  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  fitting 
out  and  manning  and  commissioning  priva- 
teers; and  of  Supreme  Admiralty  Judge  in 
determining  prize  questions  and  adjusting  the 
ahnost  innumerable  controversies  in  which 
those  concerned  with  these  privateers  were  en- 
gaged. 

It  was  he  who  engaged  the  services  of  the 
immortal  Lafayette,  whose  spirit  leads  the 
American  host  to-day,  and  equipped  that  dar- 
ing and  enterprising  seaman,  John  Paul  Jones, 
with  the  guns  of  the  Bonhomme  Richard, 

And  then  things  began  to  happen.  Rumour, 
always  by  mysterious  process  faster  than  mor- 
tal means  of  travel,  reported  that  a  special 
messenger  from  the  United  States  had  eluded 
the  English  frigates  and  was  tearing  toward 
Paris  with  all  signs  of  some  portentous  news. 
The  old  American  Nestor  gathered  his  coun- 
cil about  him  in  his  retreat  at  Passy,  and 
waited  with  great  impatience.  There  were 
Arthur  Lee  and  Silas  Deane  and  the  doubt- 
ful Bancroft — ^William  Lee,  of  Virginia,  and 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    31 

the  star  of  the  original  cast,  Caron  de  Beaumar- 
chais.  About  dinner  time  there  clattered  into 
the  courtyard  John  Loring  Austin,  of  Boston. 
Before  he  even  had  time  to  alight,  Franklin 
addressed  him. 

"Sir,  is  Philadelphia  taken?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

The  old  gentleman,  so  says  an  old  diary, 
clasped  his  hands  and  returned  to  the  hotel. 

"But,  sir,"  cried  the  messenger,  "I  have 
greater  news  than  that.  General  Burgoyne 
and  his  whole  army  are  prisoners  of  war!" 

The  effect  was  dynamic.  Everyone  fell  to 
making  use  of  this  epochal  and  tremendous 
news  after  his  own  fashion.  The  star  actor 
bounced  into  a  chaise  with  William  Lee  and 
tore  off  to  Versailles,  the  hero  of  his  own  melo- 
drama, to  tell  the  King,  and  tore  in  such  ex- 
cellent histrionic  style  that  he  turned  over  the 
chaise  and  broke  his  ribs.  The  rest  of  the  staff 
began  copying  the  dispatches  for  diplomatic 
action,  while  Franklin's  valet  and  Major 
Thornton,  Arthur  Lee's  private  secretary,  be- 


32          DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

gan  making  a  full  report  of  the  whole  for  my 
Lord  Stormont,  Ambassador  of  Great  Brit- 
ain. Whatever  else  failed  His  Majesty  King 
George  III,  it  was  not  his  secret  service. 

Franklin  had  been  warned  that  there  were 
spies  in  his  house  but  had  made  the  typical  re- 
ply that  he  didn't  mind,  for  he  had  nothing  to 
conceal,  not  even  from  his  enemies.  Perhaps 
this  explains  why  in  the  end  he  had  no  enemies. 
At  all  events,  the  spies  were  of  considerable 
service  to  him  at  this  juncture.  They  led  Lord 
North  to  begin  frantic  negotiations  for  peace 
on  the  spot.  Of  course,  Franklin  wanted  peace 
— as  we  want  peace  to-day,  but  not  a  Han- 
overian peace. 

However,  it  was  a  matter  of  life  and 
death  to  get  the  French  Navy  behind  him. 
And  here  the  spies  did  us  another  good  turn. 
It  is  said  that  Vergennes  also  had  his  agents  in 
the  Passy  household.  And,  by  dint  of  listen- 
ing at  the  keyholes  and  picking  from  waste 
baskets  and  catching  snatches  of  dinner  talk. 


sm^^^a' 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    33 

they  became  aware  of  these  advances  by  the 
Enghsh. 

This  alarming  information,  added  to  the 
great  influence  of  Franklin's  personality,  per- 
suaded the  Bourbon  King  to  act  at  once.  His 
whole  soul  was  set  upon  the  dismemberment 
of  the  British  Empire.  He  did  not  care  about 
the  Colonies  rising  up  into  a  great  power — 
both  on  account  of  his  own  prestige  and  a 
natural  aversion  for  republics,  and  because 
his  cousin,  the  Spaniard,  rightly  opined  that 
an  American  republic  would  be  a  menace  to 
the  American  possessions  of  Spain.  But  a 
reconciliation — that  was  not  to  be  considered. 

The  philosopher  played  his  hand  like  the 
great  genius  that  he  was.  Frank  and  genuine 
in  every  move,  he  still  concealed  a  greater 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  a  more  subtle 
mind  under  a  disingenuous  aspect,  than  any 
man  alive.  From  the  unrecognized  suppliant 
he  assumed  at  once  the  role  of  the  master  of  the 
situation.     All  the  parties  came  to  him.     Con- 


34  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

rad  Alexander  Gerard,  Royal  Syndic  of  the 
City  of  Strassburg  and  Secretary  of  His  Maj- 
esty's Council  of  State,  arrived  on  the  17th  of 
December,  1777,  to  announce  that  "His  Maj- 
esty is  fixed  in  his  determination  not  only  to 
acknowledge,  but  to  support  your  indepen- 
dence by  every  means  in  his  power." 

This  was  the  first  great  diplomatic  triumph 
in  our  history.  It  was  put  into  formal  shape 
by  treaty  duly  made  the  6th  of  February  fol- 
lowing our  only  formal  alliance.  Its  princi- 
pal provisions  were  "to  maintain  effectually 
the  liberty,  sovereignty,  and  independence  ab- 
solute and  unlimited  of  the  said  United  States" 
and  that  "neither  of  the  two  parties  shall  con- 
clude either  truce  or  peace  with  Great  Brit- 
ain without  the  formal  consent  of  the  other  first 
obtained." 

It  is  sufiicient  evidence  of  the  impotency  of 
old  dogmas  that  the  legend  of  "no  entangling 
alliances"  should  have  been  disregarded  to  the 
saving  of  our  very  existence  in  the  first  treaty 
ever  made — and  now  140  years  later  again  dis- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    35 

regarded  for  the  safety  of  our  first  friend. 
For  although  it  is  not  down  on  paper,  no  hon- 
est American  can  doubt  that  the  old  compact 
holds  reciprocally  to-day,  and  that  we  are 
bound  to  "maintain  effectually  the  liberty, 
sovereignty,  and  independence"  of  France, 
and  conclude  no  separate  truce  or  peace  with 
the  Teuton. 


CHAPTER  THREE 

FIGHTING  FOR  LIFE.    THE 
BIRTH  OF  A  NATION 

The  European  Cabal  Against  Democracy — The 
United  States  Sends  Out  an  All-American  Team — 
Benjamin  Franklin  Plays  Fair  and  Wins  the  Ap- 
plause of  His  Opponents — John  Jay  Discovers  a 
Plot  and  Throws  His  Instructions  to  the  Winds — 
The  Part  Played  by  the  Intercepted  Dispatches  of 
Marbois  and  the  Secret  Mission  of  Reyneval  in 
American  Independence — The  Foundations  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  Solidarity. 

IN  SPITE  of  the  doctrine  of  blood  and  iron 
and  the  playful  maxims  of  an  all-conquer- 
ing destiny  so  artfully  and  universally 
spread  through  the  German  Empire  by  its 
princes,  evidence  is  not  lacking  to-day  that  the 
people  of  that  empire  may  be  distinguished 
from  its  rulers  in  their  aims  and  purposes  and 
ideas  of  the  war  now  raging.     In  recognizing 

36 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS  37 

this  distinction  and  in  directing  the  fierce  pub- 
licity of  his  open  diplomacy  toward  the  people 
over  the  heads  of  the  Kaiser's  star  chamber, 
Woodrow  Wilson  is  putting  in  practice  a  diplo- 
matic precedent  which  is  perhaps  the  greatest 
single  step  yet  taken  toward  the  liberation  of 
the  world  from  the  scourge  of  national  feuds 
and  dynastic  wars. 

But  in  making  this  distinction  between 
rulers  and  the  human  beings  ruled,  in  the  frank 
directness  of  his  negotiations,  and  in  the  mo- 
mentous decision  by  which  he  took  the  action 
which  for  the  first  time  in  history  caused  the 
raising  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes  in  St.  Paul's, 
London — in  these  actions  for  which  he  will  be 
famous  for  all  time,  he  was  still  only  following 
the  principles  and  the  train  of  events  laid  by 
Benjamin  Franklin  in  Paris,  a  long  time  ago. 

Nurtured  by  the  aggressive  spirit  of  our 
public  men  from  the  Civil  War  to  the  Spanish 
War  and  by  politicians  anxious  about  the  Irish 
and  the  German  vote — as  well  as  by  a  false 
sense  that  patriotism  demanded  an  hereditary 


88         DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

and  always-vanquished  enemy — an  uninformed 
public  has  held  the  belief  that  the  victory  of 
Yorktown  ended  the  horrid  British  rule  in 
America  and  set  this  country  free  fully 
equipped  to  sail  a  new  and  better  sea.  The 
exact  facts  of  the  matter  are  not  quite  so  flat- 
tering to  our  pride,  although  they  do  in  fact 
augur  much  better  for  our  future  and  our 
civilization  than  does  the  popular  version. 

Yorktown  fell  before  a  combined  American 
and  French  army  in  October,  1781.  For  the 
moment  the  military  effort  of  the  Hanoverian 
King  in  the  thirteen  Colonies  had  completely 
broken  down.  But  even  the  most  cursory  view 
of  the  European  situation  at  that  date  will  show 
how  far  this  event  came  short  of  settling  the 
future  of  this  country  as  a  great  independent 
liberal  force  in  the  world. 

We  were  recognized  at  the  time  by  two  coun- 
tries— France  and  Holland.  The  rest  of  the 
world  under  the  rule  of  what  we  now  consider 
despots,  had  not  only  no  sympathy  with  us, 
but  viewed  this  upstart  republican  government 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    39 

with  the  gravest  possible  distrust  and  concern. 
As  far  as  they  were  concerned,  they  wished  us 
ill,  except  in  so  far  as  a  revolt  in  her  colonies 
embarrassed  Great  Britain,  of  whose  power 
they  were  jealous.  And  they  left  us  strictly 
alone,  turning  our  ambassadors  from  their 
doors  with  the  utmost  incivility  and  contempt. 
In  establishing  peace  and  commerce,  our 
standing  in  the  world  community,  and  our  na- 
tional boundaries — ^upon  the  last  of  which  our 
entire  future  power  depended — we  were  at  the 
mercy  of  five  foreign  forces: 

1.  The  infijiitesimal  part  of  the  French 

public  that  had  any  knowledge  of  or 
influence  in  Foreign  affairs. 

2.  King  Louis  XVI  and  his  circle  of  ad- 

visors. 

3.  The  Spanish  Court. 

4.  The  English  throne. 

5.  The  voice  of  the  English  people. 

To  begin  with,  it  is  abundantly  clear  that  in 
so  far  as  the  French  people  were  concerned  the 


40  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

United  States  had  the  most  cordial,  ahnost  ve- 
hement support,  based  upon  a  sympathy  with 
the  struggUng  ideals  of  personal  liberty  and 
human  emancipation  which  has  been  dear  to 
the  hearts  of  both  peoples  ever  since  and  has 
become  an  international  tradition  of  the  most 
binding  kind.  The  advertising  of  this  attitude 
and  its  presentation  to  the  citizens  of  France 
were  largely  due  to  the  extraordinary  percep- 
tion and  abilities  of  Franklin. 

But  as  a  plain  matter  of  fact  the  French 
public  had  about  as  much  to  say  concerning 
their  foreign  policy  as  had  an  Irishman  with 
England's  under  Edward  III.  Not  only  had 
the  public  no  say,  but  not  even  the  vaguest  idea 
of  what  it  was.  As  an  active  force  in  the  tre- 
mendous decision  to  be  reached,  they  had  no 
more  influence  than  the  rest  of  the  populace  of 
Continental  Europe,  whose  prevailing  convic- 
tion was  that  the  inhabitants  of  North  America 
were  bright  red  and  wore  feathers. 

Vergennes  was  at  the  helm  for  Louis  XVI. 
His  pohcy  is  now  clear  enough.     He  had  en- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    41 

tered  the  war  and  made  an  alliance  with  the 
United  States  solely  to  injure  Great  Britain. 
Since  making  his  agreement  with  us  he  had 
made  another  with  Spain — his  true  ally — 
which,  as  we  shall  see,  was  more  dangerous  to 
us  than  the  Hessian  forces  of  King  George 
ever  thought  of  being. 

The  Spanish  Court  was  our  deadly  enemy, 
although  at  the  moment  fighting  England  un- 
der a  secret  treaty  with  France.  And  of 
course  King  George  was  beside  himself  with 
fury,  resolved  to  crush  the  Colonies  and  with 
them  English  liberty. 

Add  to  these  circumstances  the  fact  that  in 
April,  1782,  the  English  Admiral  Rodney 
smashed  the  French  naval  power  at  Mar- 
tinique, and  that  shortly  after  Lord  Howe 
raised  the  siege  of  Gibraltar  and  ended  the 
hopes  of  the  Spaniards,  and  the  difficulties  of 
our  peace  commissioners  become  apparent. 

These  commissioners  constituted  a  powerful 
team — probably  the  most  powerful  diplomatic 
trio  ever  sent  forth  into  the  world.     They  were 


42  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Franklin,  old,  wise,  and  tolerant;  John  Jay, 
young,  impatient,  and  daring,  already  a  great 
master  of  English  law  and  keen  analytical 
thinking;  and  John  Adams — well,  an  Adams, 
that  is  to  say  a  genius,  whose  uncompromising, 
provincial,  stubborn,  and  cantankerous  meth- 
ods still  succeeded  because  of  his  monumental 
earnestness  and  patent  honesty. 

Primarily  their  instructions  were  to  insist 
upon  absolute  independence,  and  to  consult  and 
take  the  advice  of  the  French  Court  in  all 
negotiations. 

They  met  Mr.  Richard  Oswald,  sent  by  the 
British,  to  Paris.  To  begin  with,  it  all  looked 
bright.  It  was  almost  a  family  party.  Os- 
wald was  a  gentleman — friendly,  courteous, 
even  sympathetic,  reasonable  to  a  degree,  and 
a  charming  companion.  But  before  they  had 
gone  very  far  it  developed  that  he  was  author- 
ized to  treat  with  the  "United  Colonies."  To 
be  sure,  he  was  to  grant  them  independence. 
But  John  Jay  would  not  listen  to  a  word  of  it. 
He  intended  to  be  treated  with  as  represent- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    43 

ing  the  United  States,  already  independent. 

So  according  to  instructions  he  proceeded  to 
Versailles  to  see  the  Secretary  for  Foreign 
Affairs  to  consult  on  this  point.  And  his  ex- 
perience there  showed  him  the  exceedingly  pre- 
carious position  these  infant  United  States 
were  in : 

"I  observed  to  the  Count  that  it  would  be 
descending  from  the  ground  of  independence 
to  treat  under  the  description  of  colonies.  He 
replied  that  a  name  signified  little;  that  the 
King  of  Great  Britain's  styling  himself  the 
King  of  France  was  no  obstacle  to  the  King 
of  France  treating  with  him;  that  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  our  independence,  instead  of  pre- 
ceding, must  in  the  natural  course  of  events 
be  the  effect  of  the  treaty,  and  that  it  would 
not  be  reasonable  to  expect  the  effect  before 
the  cause." 

Since,  meantime,  Oswald,  the  Englishman, 
as  Jay  says,  "upon  this,  as  upon  every  other 
occasion,  behaved  in  a  candid  and  proper  man- 
ner," which  is  to  say,  seemed  inclined  to  agree 


U         DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

with  the  Americans,  this  position  of  the  French 
whose  help  they  counted  upon,  and  whose  ad- 
vice they  were  ordered  to  follow,  caused  the 
greatest  alarm.  And  this  was  increased  a  hun- 
dred fold  by  further  developments. 

For  the  Conde  d'Aranda,  a  splendid  noble- 
man from  Arragon,  ambassador  of  Spain, 
to  whom  France  was  primarily  bound,  conde- 
scended to  allow  John  Jay  to  wait  upon  him. 
Jay's  account  is  interesting,  to  show  how  the 
props  were  falling  from  beneath  the  Ameri- 
can cause: 

"He  began  the  conference  by  various  re- 
marks on  the  general  principles  in  which  con- 
tracting parties  should  form  treaties,  on  the 
magnanimity  of  his  sovereign,  and  on  his  own 
disposition  to  disregard  trifling  considerations 
in  great  matters.  Then  opening  Mitchell's 
large  map  of  North  America,  he  asked  me 
what  were  our  boundaries.  I  told  him  that  the 
boundary  between  us  and  the  Spanish  Domin- 
ions was  a  line  drawn  through  from  the  head 


i?^ 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    45 

of  the  Mississippi  down  the  middle  thereof. 
*  *  *  He  entered  into  a  long  discussion  of  our 
right  to  such  an  extent  *  *  *  and  proposed  to 
run  a  longitudinal  line  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river  *  *  *  A  few  days  afterward  he  sent  over 
the  same  map  with  his  proposed  line  marked  on 
in  red  ink.  It  ran  from  near  the  confines  of 
Georgia,  but  east  of  the  Flint  River  to  the 
confluence  of  the  Kanawa  with  the  Ohio  and 
thence  round  the  western  shores  of  Lakes  Erie 
and  Huron,  and  thence  around  Lake  Michigan 
to  Lake  Superior." 

Added  to  this  contention  of  the  Spaniards 
was  the  amazing  proposition  coming  from  an 
ally,  that  the  country  above  the  Ohio,  if  not 
Spanish,  should  remain  British. 

Jay  went  over  and  left  this  map  with  Ver- 
gennes  and  told  him  that  it  would  not  do  at  all. 
The  consequence  was  that  Jay  was  invited  to 
dinner  at  the  palace,  to  talk  it  over  with  Rey- 
neval,  Vergennes's  secretary.  And  he  came 
out  boiling  with  indignation,  and  teeming  with 


46  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

suspicions.  Reyneval  had  handed  him  a 
memorandum,  of  which  this  is  the  sahent  pas- 
sage: 

"If  by  the  future  treaty  of  peace,  Spain 
preserves  West  Florida,  she  alone  will  be  the 
sole  proprietor  of  the  course  of  the  Missis- 
sippi from  the  thirty-first  degree  of  latitude  to 
the  mouth  of  this  river.  Whatever  may  be  the 
case  with  that  part  which  is  beyond  this  point 
to  the  north,  the  United  States  of  America 
can  have  no  pretentions  to  it,  not  being  masters 
of  either  border  to  this  river." 

This  meant  that  the  United  States  was  to  be 
confined  for  ever  to  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  not 
only  not  become  a  power,  but  was  never  even 
to  open  the  Mississippi  basin.  And  that  our 
allies  were  insisting  on  these  terms,  while  sup- 
posed to  be  aiding  our  cause.  And  this  was 
the  more  accentuated  by  the  receipt  of  a  docu- 
ment put  into  his  hands  on  Sept.  10th  by  an 
agent  of  the  British  government. 

This  was  a  dispatch  from  Barbe  Marbois, 
French  charge  d'affaires  at  Philadelphia,  to  the 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    47 

Comte  de  Vergennes.  Like  most  dispatches 
traversing  the  sea  those  days  it  had  fallen  prey 
to  an  English  frigate,  fished  out  of  the  sea 
where  it  had  been  thrown  when  in  danger  of 
capture.  It  revealed  that  the  French  were 
planning  to  prevent  our  purpose  of  sharing  in 
the  Newfoundland  fisheries,  "the  cradle  of  sea- 
men." 

What  all  this  meant,  is  put  quite  plainly 
by  Jay  himself: 

"They  are  interested  in  separating  us  from 
Great  Britain,  and  on  that  point  we  may,  I  be- 
lieve, depend  on  them;  but  it  is  not  their  in- 
terest that  we  should  become  a  great  and  for- 
midable people,  and  therefore  they  will  not 
help  us  become  so.  It  is  not  their  interest  that 
such  a  treaty  should  be  formed  between  us  and 
Britain  as  would  produce  cordiality  and  mu- 
tual confidence." 

Apparently  the  American  diplomats  were 
checkmated,  and  the  United  States  destined  to 
^be  a  Costa  Rica.  For  not  even  a  Fourth  of 
July  orator  will  contend  that,  single  handed 


48  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

we  could  establish  an  empire  in  the  face  of 
France,  Spain,  and  England. 

What  the  American  commissioners  did,  how- 
ever, was  simple  enough.  They  went  to  Rich- 
ard Oswald,  and  laid  the  matter  frankly  before 
him.  And  he  agreed  to  send  at  once  for  new 
instructions  to  negotiate  with  a  free  and  inde- 
pendent United  States. 

And  then  the  plot  thifckened.  These  were 
hectic  days  for  the  Americans,  two  months 
from  any  instructions,  with  the  destiny  of  not 
only  America  but  the  Anglo-Saxon  and,  as  it 
now  appears,  perhaps  of  all  the  world  in  their 
hands,  marooned  in  a  babel  of  cabals  and  in- 
trigues. On  the  9th  of  September  they  re- 
ceived certain  word  that  Rejrneval  was  setting 
out  for  England  in  the  greatest  secrecy,  and 
that  the  Conde  d'Aranda  had  galloped  out  to 
Versailles  in  the  greatest  haste  to  confer  with 
him  before  he  left.  No  wonder  it  looked  to 
John  Jay  as  if  the  goose  was  to  be  cooked  in 
London  and  carved  by  the  three  kings,  with. 
America  left  to  freeze  outside  the  door. 


^ 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    49 

He  never  had  much  patience  with  instruc- 
tions. Like  Napoleon,  who  tore  up  his  let- 
ters from  the  National  Council,  and  Dewey 
who  cut  his  cables,  John  Jay  when  on  the  war- 
path decided  things  for  himself.  From  that 
date  he  neglected  entirely  to  consult  with  Ver- 
gennes  about  anything.  On  the  contrary  he 
called  on  Benjamin  Vaughan,  private  secre- 
tary to  Lord  Shelburne,  Prime  Minister  of 
England,  and  laid  the  plot  before  him,  sending 
him  post  haste  like  a  second  D'Artagnan  to 
London,  to  circumvent  Reyneval,  and  prevent 
the  coup. 

The  question  naturally  is :  Why  did  he  sup- 
pose that  he  could  save  his  country  by  con- 
fiding in  the  enemy? 

This  was  because  of  a  fact  which  is  at  the 
very  foundation  of  our  government,  the  one 
fundamental  basis  of  our  entire  history,  and 
the  keynote  of  the  present  alignment  of  the 
nations  in  the  fight  for  liberty. 

The  fact  was  that  the  English  people  were 
a  power  not  only  apart  from  but  in  opposition 


50  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

to  the  King,  and  that  this  power  was  at  that 
very  moment  arising  in  one  of  its  periodic 
struggles  for  the  destruction  of  royal  preroga- 
tive and  arbitrary  rule.  And  that  the  Eng- 
lishmen leading  this  battle  realized  that  our 
War  of  Independence  was  the  very  backbone 
of  their  movement — that  the  American  cause 
was  their  cause  and  the  cause  of  freedom  of 
peoples  of  the  whole  world. 

Franklin's  correspondence  shows  that  he 
was  in  intimate  and  friendly  relations  with 
John  Charles  Fox,  Lord  Shelburne,  Hartley, 
Oswald,  Lord  Chatham,  Lord  Rockingham, 
Conway,  Adam  Smith,  the  inheritors  and 
champions  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  traditions  and 
independence.  And  that  so  strong  were  these 
men  that  they  openly  said  in  the  very  halls  of 
King  George  that  "we  heartily  wish  success  to 
the  Americans." 

Richmond  and  Fox  proclaimed  their  satis- 
faction over  every  British  defeat  in  America. 
Walpole  wrote: 

"I  rejoice  that  there  is  still  a  great  continent 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    51 

of  Englishmen  who  still  remain  free  and  inde- 
pendent, and  who  laugh  at  the  impotent  major- 
ities of  a  prostitute  parliament." 

Burke  and  Chatham  openly  proclaimed  their 
correspondence  with  Franklin  and  held  every 
"British  and  Hessian"  victory  over  America  to 
be  a  victory  over  British  freedom. 

The  American  historian  Willis  Fletcher 
Johnson  points  out  that  "Many  British  officers 
refused  to  serve  against  America,  preferring  to 
resign  their  commissions.  Among  these  were : 
the  eldest  son  of  Lord  Chatham,  who  had  be- 
gun a  most  promising  military  career;  Admiral 
Keppel,  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Jeffrey  Am- 
herst; General  Conway,  afterward  a  field  mar- 
shal; Lord  Frederick  Cavendish;  and  the  Earl 
of  Effingham,  who  was  commended  for  his  act 
by  the  city  corporations  of  London  and  Dublin 
in  public  addresses." 

Wharton  says: 

**When  the  question  is  asked,  why  did  not  the 
British  ministry  arrest  men  of  this  class  when  cor- 
responding with  the  American  legation — a  question 


52  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

often  put  by  Hutchinson  and  other  refugees  in  Eng- 
land— the  answer,  as  elsewhere  noticed,  is,  that  they 
could  not  be  arrested  without  arresting  almost  the 
whole  Whig  opposition." 

The  personal  part  played  by  the  perfect  con- 
fidence these  men  had  in  Franklin,  and  the 
reward  our  great  ambassador  reaped  for  his 
candid,  open,  and  friendly  attitude  is  best  em- 
phasized by  the  event.  On  February  22, 1782, 
Conway's  famous  address  to  the  King  resulted 
in  a  resolution  in  Parliament  against  further 
continuance  of  the  war,  and  the  fall  of  Lord 
North  and  the  King's  party.  Lord  Rocking- 
ham became  Prime  Minister;  Charles  James 
Fox,  Foreign  Minister,  and  Lord  Shelburne, 
at  whose  house  Franklin's  messengers  were  ac- 
customed to  spend  their  time  in  England,  Sec- 
retary for  the  Colonies,  and  master  of  the  situ- 
ation. 

Now  Shelburne  regarded  Franklin  not  only 
with  the  greatest  confidence  and  esteem,  but 
considered  him  the  one  great  authority  upon 
the  whole  movement.     As  a  consequence,  in 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    53 

order  to  open  peace  negotiations,  he  discarded 
the  entire  crooked  set  of  current  diplomatic 
rules  and  methods,  and  cast  about  to  find  an 
ambassador  who  would  be  personally  satisfac- 
tory to  the  philosopher.  He  chose  one  of 
Franklin's  personal  friends,  Richard  Oswald. 
He  might  as  well  have  chosen  an  American. 
Oswald's  sympathy  for  our  revolution  can  be 
judged  by  his  furnishing  the  enormous  bail  of 
$250,000  for  Henry  Laurens,  an  American 
envoy  who  had  been  thrown  into  the  Tower 
of  London.  The  spirit  of  this  negotiation,  a 
magnificent  precedent  of  fair  dealing  between 
peoples,  can  be  shown  by  Shelburne's  letter  to 
Frankhn.  It  not  only  shows  the  purpose  of 
this  new  party  in  power  to  emancipate  the 
Americans,  but  the  unparalleled  confidence 
they  had  in  Franklin. 

"Your  letter  discovering  the  same  disposi- 
tion, has  made  me  send  to  you  Mr.  Oswald.  I 
have  had  a  longer  acquaintance  with  him  than 
I  even  had  the  pleasure  to  have  with  you.  I 
believe  him  an  honest  man  and,  after  consult- 


54  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

ing  some  of  our  common  friends,  I  have 
thought  him  the  fittest  for  the  purpose.  He  is 
a  pacifical  man  and  conversant  in  these  negoti- 
ations, which  are  most  interesting  to  mankind. 
*  *  *  He  is  fully  appraised  of  my  mind,  and 
you  may  give  full  credit  to  everything  he  as- 
sures you  of.  At  the  same  time,  if  any  other 
channel  occurs  to  you,  I  am  ready  to  embrace 
it.  I  \\ish  to  retain  the  same  simplicity  and 
good  faith  which  existed  between  us  in  trans- 
actions of  less  importance." 

Of  course,  the  truth  of  the  matter  was  that 
King  George  in  his  battle  for  autocratic 
power  had  been  even  worse  beaten  in  England 
than  in  America,  and  that  Franklin  and  Jay 
were  not  dealing  with  enemies  at  all.  Shel- 
bume's  inclination,  as  well  as  far-sighted  pol- 
icy,  was  to  create  as  powerful  an  independent 
country  as  possible,  founded  upon  the  same 
liberal  ideals  of  government  and  conscience  as 
his  own,  and  knit  as  firmly  to  the  old  English 
stock  as  inheritance  and  language,  tradition, 
religion,  literature  and  commerce,  laws,  man- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    55 

ners  and  similar  conceptions  of  truth,  justice, 
and  liberty  could  knit  them. 

This  was  his  own  statement,  and  this  was  the 
outcome.  Independence  was  acknowledged, 
the  treaty  was  signed  without  knowledge  of 
the  French  Court,  and  we  were  given  all  we 
demanded.  The  wisdom  of  this  decision  was 
demonstrated  not  long  ago  when  the  first  flo- 
tilla of  American  destroyers  cleared  for  action 
and  joined  the  British  patrol  in  the  Irish  Sea. 


CHAPTEE  FOtm 

"TRADITIONS    OF   THE    SERVICE" 

Gouvemeur  Morris  Takes  a  Hand  in  the  French 
Revolution — His  Memorandum  to  the  King — The 
Man  from  Home  Plans  the  Escape  of  Marie  An- 
toinette— The  Affair  of  the  King's  Money  and 
Papers — Coaching  a  Despot  to  Play  Republican — 
The  Embassy  a  Haven  for  Condemned  Aristos — In- 
vaded by  the  Commune — The  Minister  Arrested — 
All  the  Ambassadors  Leave — "Better  My  Friends 
Should  Wonder  Why  I  Stay  Than  My  Enemies  In- 
quire Why  I  Went  Away" — Morris  Stands  by  His 
Post  of  Danger — The  King's  Legacy  Delivered  in 
Vienna. 


w 


"If  Tf  "^ENT  to  court  this  morning," 
reads  the  ancient  diary  of  an 
American  gentleman.  "Noth- 
ing remarkable,  only  they  were  up  all  night, 
expecting  to  be  murdered." 

Not  an  unreasonable  expectation  either,  that 
fatal  summer  of  1792,  when  bloody  revolution 
ran  riot  through  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  the 

56 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS  57 

guillotine  worked  overtime  to  prove  the  equal- 
ity of  men.  Some  Americans  still  harbour  the 
belief  that  the  berth  of  the  American  diplomat 
is  a  sinecure.  The  opinion  is  prevalent  among 
the  smart  dilettanti  at  home,  that  he  lacks 
polish  and  power  to  deal  with  the  corps  of 
trained  statesmen  at  the  seats  of  the  mighty. 
It  is  a  safe  guess  that  they  never  knew  the  part 
played  by  Gouverneur  Morris  at  the  most  mag- 
nificent court  in  the  world — ^that  they  never 
heard  of  the  confidence  and  dependence  placed 
upon  the  shoulders  of  the  diplomat  from 
Harlem  when  hell  broke  loose  in  Versailles 
and  the  mighty  house  of  Bourbon,  the  seat  of 
all  splendour,  glory,  and  power  began  to  fall. 
Under  the  savage  attacks  of  the  rising  terror, 
ministers  and  cabinets  fell  in  a  day,  and  craven 
flight  or  the  knife  severed  the  hosts  of  false 
friends  or  staunch  adherents  from  the  side  of 
King  Louis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoinette,  dar- 
ling of  the  romancers.  And  so  it  came  that  the 
last  of  the  great  feudal  kings  was  sorely  in 
need  of  an  honest  man,  a  keen  counsellor,  and 


68         DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

a  fearless  friend.  What  did  he  know  of  in- 
surgents— but  to  shoot  them  down?  Or  of  the 
hearts  and  desires  and  wills  of  men — he  who 
had  fondly  beheved  himself  to  be  the  state? 
(A  delusion  still  prevalent  in  certain  quarters.) 

An  assembly  of  lunatics,  in  national  con- 
clave, demanded  a  constitution.  The  Secre- 
tary for  Foreign  Affairs,  the  Comte  de  Mont- 
morin  de  Saint-Herem,  repaired  in  haste  to  No. 
488  Rue  de  la  Planche,  Faubourg,  St.  Ger- 
main. "Your  Excellency,  the  American  Min- 
ister, what  is  this  demand  for  a  constitution? 
Pray  what  is  His  Majesty  to  do  about  this?" 

Wise  Majesty  to  ask.  The  humorous  and 
sturdy  American,  veteran  of  revolutions,  dic- 
tated a  memorandum.  He  also  dictated  a 
speech  to  be  made  by  the  King.  It  is  not  at  all 
impossible  that  Carlyle  would  never  have  had 
occasion  to  write  his  immortal  record,  or  the 
Scarlet  Pimpernel  to  rescue  the  fair  daughters 
of  the  ancient  nobility  from  the  fury  of  Robes- 
pierre, if  the  King  had  made  use  of  Morris's 
document. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    59 

But  the  Minister  did  not  deliver  it  until  too 
late.  His  regret  is  a  matter  of  record.  The 
party  of  assassination  began  mobilizing  its 
brigands  by  the  walls  of  Paris. 

On  the  17th  day  of  July  there  was  a  bril- 
liant dinner  party  at  the  embassy.  The  for- 
eign ambassadors  were  there,  and  the  Comte 
de  Montmorin.     The  old  diary  says : 

"In  the  evening  M.  de  Montmorin  takes  me  into 
the  garden  to  communicate  the  situation  of  things 
and  ask  my  opinion.  I  tell  him  that  I  think  the 
King  should  quit  Paris.  He  thinks  otherwise,  and 
fosters  a  thousand  empty  hopes  and  vain  expecta- 
tions." 

And  at  this  point  the  American  took  a  hand 
in  the  game.  The  King's  situation  was  more 
desperate  than  any  situation  in  melodrama. 
In  this  dilemma  he  turned  to  Gouverneur 
Morris. 

Among  the  obscure  characters  drawn  into 
the  councils  of  state  by  the  mad  poUtical  whirl- 
wind was  a  M.  Terriei  de  Monciel,  whose  as- 
sociations  were   largely   revolutionary.     But 


60  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Morris  knew  his  man — and  in  this  dire  extrem- 
ity recommended  the  proud  Bourbon  to  put  his 
fate  in  de  Moneiel's  hands.  And  then  these 
two,  Morris  and  de  Monciel,  called  into  coun- 
cil the  hot-headed  and  rampant  £tienne  Bre- 
mond,  docteur  de  la  Sorbonne,  and  began, 
Richard  Harding  Davis  fashion,  to  meddle 
with  destiny,  and  to  try  to  rewrite  the  tragedy. 

The  crazy  mob  broke  into  the  palace  of  the 
Tuileries  and  hazed  the  distracted  King.  He 
donned  the  red  cap  of  insurrection,  waved  his 
wooden  sword,  and  cheered  his  tormentors. 
There  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  so  Gouverneur 
Morris  devised  a  plan.  The  King  and  the 
Queen  were  to  make  an  escape.  The  Swiss 
Guard — that  faithful  and  formidable  company 
— left  Courbevoie  to  cover  the  retreat.  The 
route  was  planned  to  the  last  detail  through 
the  forest  of  Ardennes  and  the  principality  of 
Beaumont. 

In  camp  there  lay  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette, 
known  to  the  Minister  of  old,  reliable  as  Ajax. 

The  vacillation  and  inherited  perversity  of 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    61 

the  doomed  King  led  him  to  hesitate  until  the 
right  moment  had  passed,  and  the  plot  was  re- 
vealed. So  the  ministers  turned  back  to  the 
arts  of  statecraft  in  an  endeavour  to  turn  the 
tide.  And  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  in 
this  most  critical  time  of  all  French  history,  it 
was  to  the  American  Minister  they  turned  for 
advice. 

On  the  22d  of  July  the  King  asked  whether 
Morris  would  take  charge  of  the  royal  papers 
and  the  royal  money,  and  on  the  24th,  de 
Monciel  appeared  at  the  embassy  with  547,000 
livres.  Years  afterward  in  Vienna  the  am- 
bassador handed  a  portion  of  this  sum  to  the 
Duchesse  d'Angouleme — aU  that  was  left  of 
the  princely  inheritance  of  the  Bourbon  dy- 
nasty to  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI. 

By  this  time  the  King  had  become  hardly 
more  than  a  figurehead,  a  prisoner  in  his  own 
palace.  The  Revolutionists  had  their  minions 
in  the  cabinet,  their  brigands  in  the  street,  and 
their  spies  at  every  keyhole.  At  the  risk  of 
his  life,  Morris,  at  this  juncture,  undertook  the 


62  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

impossible  task  of  coaching  the  hereditary  des- 
pot to  play  the  repubhcan — the  mind  moulded 
in  the  form  of  arbitrary  will  to  adopt  the  wiles 
of  the  pohtician  and  the  forms  of  democratic 
cajolery  and  practice  so  familiar  to  the  authors 
of  the  American  Revolution.  He  sat  up 
nights  with  the  King's  counsellors — de  Mont- 
morin,  Bertrand  de  Moleville,  de  Monciel,  and 
Bremond — framing  speeches  and  measures 
with  which  to  feed  the  Assembly  and  the  Mar- 
seillais ;  letters  to  be  written  by  the  hidebound 
monarch  to  his  captains  and  the  Provinces — 
state  documents  which  in  other  hands  perhaps 
might  have  saved  a  kingdom. 

It  was  of  no  avail.  The  expected  explosion 
came  on  the  10th  of  August — and  the  consti- 
tutional and  inevitable  hesitation  of  the  royal 
pigmy  resulted  in  his  deserting  his  own  staunch 
defenders  to  be  sacked  with  his  castle,  and  him- 
self to  be  seized  and  condemned  to  death. 

This  left  Paris  and  France  at  the  mercy  of 
a  mob-rule  whose  frightfulness  has  become  a 
bjrword  for  all  time.     No  man's  life  was  worth 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    63 

a  song.  Where  kings  are  killed  and  beautiful 
young  queens  murdered,  what  chance  for  an 
alien  and  hostile  ambassador? 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Morris  estab- 
lished the  precedent  and  tradition  of  staying 
by  his  diplomatic  post  in  time  of  danger,  which 
has  since  been  the  infallible  custom  of  the  serv- 
ice— and  particularly  in  Paris.  His  house  be- 
came a  centre  of  suspicion — and  not  without 
warrant,  from  the  Jacobin  point  of  view.  He 
gave  refuge  there  to  aristos  in  distress,  hiding 
for  their  lives.  Armed  men  of  the  Commune 
invaded  his  house ;  he  was  arrested  in  the  city 
on  the  most  paltry  excuses,  and  held  up  on 
any  journey  beyond  the  walls.  It  was  a  des- 
per^.te  and  dangerous  situation.  In  the  end 
every  European  ambassador  and  minister  left 
the  accursed  city,  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
alone  floated  beside  the  tricolour  in  Paris. 
Morris's  papers  give  some  idea  of  his  state  of 
mind.  He  tells  of  his  good-bye  visit  to  the 
British  Ambassador : 

"The     Venetian    Ambassador     has    been 


64  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

brought  back  and  very  ignominiously  treated; 
even  his  papers  examined,  as  it  is  said,  hy  Mm, 
They  (he  and  the  British  Ambassador)  can't 
get  passports.  He  is  in  a  tearing  passion. 
He  has  burned  his  papers,  which  I  will  not  do.'* 

To  Thomas  Jefferson  he  writes : 

"The  different  ambassadors  are  all  taking 
flight,  and  if  I  stay  I  shall  be  alone.  I  mean, 
however,  to  stay.  *  *  *  It  is  true  that  the  po- 
sition is  not  without  danger,  but  I  presume  that 
when  the  President  did  me  the  honour  of  nam- 
ing me  to  this  embassy  it  was  not  for  my  per- 
sonal pleasure  or  safety,  but  to  promote  the 
interests  of  my  country." 

A  letter  to  his  brother,  General  Morris,  in 
London,  says : 

"The  date  of  this  letter  will  show  you  that  I 
did  not,  as  you  hoped,  abandon  my  post,  which 
is  not  always  a  very  proper  conduct.  *  *  * 
You  are  right  in  the  idea  that  Paris  is  a  dan- 
gerous residence.  But  it  is  better  that  my 
friends  should  wonder  why  I  stay  than  my 
enemies  inquire  why  I  went  away." 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    65 

This  sturdy  example  of  Morris  was  followed 
by  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  Minister  to  France, 
at  the  time  of  the  siege  of  Paris  by  the  Prus- 
sians, and  again  by  Myron  T.  Herrick  when 
the  official  exodus  from  the  French  capital  be- 
gan to  the  tune  of  Von  Kluck's  guns  in  Au- 
gust, 1914.  These  last  two  faithful  perform- 
ances have  become  a  part  of  that  pecuUar 
tradition  of  good  will  and  affection  between 
the  French  and  the  Americans  which  has  al- 
ways held  the  imaginations  of  the  populace, 
even  at  times  when  the  diplomats  were  pulling 
at  the  greatest  odds. 


\ 


CHAPTER  FIVE 

"TRADITIONS  OF  THE  SERVICE" 

(Continued) 

Elihu  Washbume,  Ambassador  for  the  World  During 
the  Siege  of  Paris — The  Commune  Again — History 
Repeated — The  Empress  Eugenie  Rescued  from  the 
Revolution  by  an  American — The  Coming  of  the 
Prussians — All  the  Foreign  Envoys  Pick  Up  Their 
Hats  in  a  Hurry — The  Deluge  of  Victims — The 
Secret  Messenger  of  the  Royal  Family — The  Gold  of 
Prince  Murat — Counsellor  to  the  Republic — Vive 
VAmerique — An  Embassy  Over  a  Mine  and  Under  a 
Barricade. 

HISTORIES  of  American  diplomacy 
have  little  to  say  about  Elihu  Wash- 
burne.  The  reason  is  that  he  had 
small  part  in  controversy  and  barter  and  popu- 
lar assertion  of  American  rights  and  demands. 
For  this  very  reason  his  influence  was  all  the 
greater.  He  devoted  himself  to  the  service  of 
other  people — a  method  of  establishing  pres- 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS  6T 

tige  which  the  world  is  beginning  to  recognize 
to  be  a  thousand  fold  more  potent  than  the 
selfish,  grasping  policy  of  the  old  chancel- 
lories, or  the  incessant  rattling  of  the  scabbard. 
In  milder  form  the  dramas  of  the  hectic  days 
of  Morris  were  played  again  in  1870.  Wash- 
burne  had  a  foretaste  of  the  great  task  of  pro- 
tecting alien  people  in  a  war-ridden  country 
which  has  since  reflected  such  great  credit  upon 
our  ambassadors  abroad.  At  the  outbreak  of 
war  he  undertook  the  protection  of  the  subjects 
of  the  North  German  Confederation,  of  Sax- 
ony, Darmstadt,  and  Hesse.  His  devotion 
and  success  not  only  won  him  the  unstinted 
gratitude  of  Bismarck,  and  the  German  peo- 
ple— but  in  their  behalf  established  a  humane 
practice  of  handling  enemy  aliens  on  the  part 
of  the  French  Government  that  must  bring  a 
blush  of  shame  to  even  the  most  callous  Prus- 
sian contemplating  the  population  of  northern 
France  which  they  have  enslaved.  The  French 
readily  agreed  to  send  home  all  the  Germans 
in  Paris,  except  those  capable  of  military  duty. 


68  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

But  even  this  did  not  suit  Washburne.  He  de- 
manded, and  finally  obtained  permission  to 
send  them  all  home,  excepting  only  actual  spies 
and  soldiers. 

Lulled  by  false  reports,  and  riding  on  the 
buoyant  crest  of  their  native  enthusiasm,  the 
Parisians  were  thunderstruck  by  the  sudden 
news  that  MacMahon  had  been  completely 
crushed  at  Sedan,  40,000  men  lost;  that  their 
army  had  been  defeated  before  Metz  and  the 
Emperor  captured.  They  reacted  after  their 
ancient  pattern.  Overnight  the  royal  govern- 
ment was  overthrown,  and  the  inevitable  mob 
made  its  roaring  expedition  to  the  ancient  Tuil- 
eries  in  quest  of  the  Queen,  even  as  it  had  done 
years  before  in  the  time  of  Marie  Antoinette. 
The  Empress  Eugenie  was  quicker  than  her 
tragic  predecessor  to  realize  the  resources  of 
the  benevolent  neutral  from  Indiana.  It  was 
Prince  Metternich  of  Austria,  and  the  Cava- 
lier! Nigra,  the  Italian  Ambassador,  that 
dashed  her  out  of  the  palace.  But  the 
D'Artagnan  that  saved  the  Queen  and  turned 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    69 

the  tragedy  into  an  American  comedy  was  the 
man  from  home.  Down  the  street  a  bit  from 
the  Embassy  lived  an  American  dentist.  Dr. 
Evans.  Plots  and  communes  and  revolutions, 
wars  and  sudden  death  are  nothing  to  a 
dentist — at  least  to  a  Yankee  dentist.  In 
Evans's  hands  the  Prince  and  the  Ambassador 
deposited  the  precious  and  dangerous  charge. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  a  few  days  later,  after  his 
own  method,  he  saw  her  safely  aboard  an  Eng- 
lish yacht  bound  for  Dover,  and  returned 
casually  to  his  business,  unknown  and  unsung. 

Washburne's  diary  records  that  under  these 
circumstances,  and  with  a  state  of  siege  im- 
minent, all  the  ambassadors  representing  the 
European  powers  picked  up  their  hats  in  a 
hurry  and  left  Paris  for  Tours.  The  South 
American  consuls  followed  suit,  and  left  him 
in  charge  of  the  diplomatic  business  of  the 
world  at  the  capital  of  France. 

His  services  to  these  many  masters,  unique 
at  the  time,  were  conducted  with  such  ability 
as  to  endear  him  and  the  United  States  to  a 


70         DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

major  portion  of  the  globe,  and  conducted  in 
such  patiently  straightforward  manner  as  to 
give  him  the  confidence  of  all  parties  in  France. 

About  midnight,  on  the  4th  of  September, 
1870,  when  the  streets  were  still  full  of  the 
raging  populace,  a  man  appeared  at  the  door 
of  the  Minister's  residence  on  the  Avenue  Mon- 
taigne. It  was  the  butler  of  Prince  Murat, 
of  the  royal  house  of  Napoleon.  He  presented 
the  compliments  of  the  Prince,  and  produced 
a  bag  of  gold,  for  all  the  world  as  in  an 
Arabian  Nights'  tale.  He  requested  that  the 
American  take  care  of  it  for  him  through  the 
whirlwind,  as  Morris  had  done  for  King  Louis 
before  him. 

And  at  the  same  time,  Jules  Favre,  Secre- 
tary for  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  National 
Council,  was  consulting  him  daily  upon  the 
game  to  be  played,  and  exhorting  him  in  his 
own  private  capacity  to  fix  up  some  kind  of 
peace  with  the  school  of  blood  and  iron. 

Three  days  after  the  Revolution  he  officially 
recognized   the   Republic   on   behalf   of   the 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    71 

United  States.  This  brought  the  people  to  his 
door  by  the  thousands,  in  a  delirium  of  joy. 
Twelve  deputations  with  drums  and  banners 
arrived  in  one  day,  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
blossomed  forth  all  over  the  city,  as  from  time 
to  time  they  are  accustomed  to  do,  showing  the 
emotional  heart  of  those  extraordinary  people. 

Of  course,  Washburne  was  in  a  most  dan- 
gerous position.  But  apparently  he  enjoyed 
it.  A  sense  of  humour  is  not  the  least  of  the 
equipment  of  an  American  diplomat.  He 
said,  whimsically: 

*'To-day  I  found  they  were  mining  the 
streets.  Pleasant  little  neighbourhood  this. 
As  I  came  home  this  evening  I  found  them 
erecting  a  barricade.  *  *  *  So  in  a  day  or  two 
we  shall  be  between  the  upper  and  the  nether 
millstones,  besides  being  in  a  capital  position 
to  have  a  bomb  fall  upon  us."  . 

All  honour  to  Elihu  B.  Washburne.  He 
upheld  the  traditions  of  Gouverneur  Morris, 
who  established  the  precedents  of  disinterested 
effort,  and  was  a  worthy  representative  of  the 


72  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

principles  of  duty  and  service  without  designs 
of  reward  or  advantage  which  has  come  to  be 
the  crowning  precept  of  American  diplomacy. 


CHAPTER  SIX 

THE  BEARDING  OF  BONAPARTE. 
A  LESSON  IN  SEA-POWER 

Napoleon  Steals  Louisiana  from  the  "Prince  of 
Peace"  and  Organizes  an  Invasion  of  America  Out  of 
His  Victorious  Armies  Led  by  Marshal  Victor  of  the 
"Terrible  Regiment" — Thomas  Jefferson,  Pacifist, 
Turns  a  Political  Somersault — Rufus  King  Holds  a 
Momentous  Conference  in  London — Robert  Living- 
ston Throws  a  Challenge  in  the  Face  of  a  Great  Con- 
queror— Napoleon  in  His  Bath-Tub  Makes  History 
— James  Monroe  Goes  to  Purchase  a  Town  and  Re- 
turns with  a  Kingdom — America  Saved  by  the  Brit- 
ish Fleet. 

THROUGH  the  streets  of  Paris  passed 
the  splendid  detachment  of  a  victorious 
army  to  the  roll  of  exultant  drums. 
From  balconies  and  towers  bright  banners 
were  flung  to  the  breeze.  Along  the  quais  and 
boulevards  the  excited  populace  cheered  and 

sang  and  danced.     They  were  drunk  with  the 

73 


74  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

delight  of  a  world  composed  entirely  of  fabu- 
lous deeds  and  the  wildest  dreams  of  conquest 
and  adventure.  At  every  tavern  could  be 
found  some  veteran  of  forty  battles,  some  hum- 
ble Hannibal,  equal  to  the  mightiest  of  myth- 
ical heroes,  telling  his  Odyssy.  He  fascinated 
the  company  with  stories  of  the  loot  of  cities 
and  the  flight  of  armies;  the  pageantry  and 
treasures  of  the  ancient  kingdoms  and  the  mys- 
terious deserts  laid  at  his  feet  in  his  incredible 
journeys.  Fired  to  a  frenzy  by  visions  of  des- 
tiny and  glory  more  magnificent  than  ever 
conceived  by  Alexander,  every  child  in  France 
was  parading  his  yard  with  a  wooden  sword 
and  a  white  cockade,  while  his  father  packed 
his  haversack  and  burnished  his  blade  in  pure 
dehght  of  the  coming  argosy. 

An  empire  was  to  be  added  to  the  diadem. 
And  old  grenadiers  shook  with  anguish  for 
fear  they  might  be  left  behind  in  the  expedi- 
tion. For  it  was  to  be  led  by  a  tiger  of  a  man, 
the  fury  of  whose  onsets  left  even  Massena 
petrified  with  astonishment  and  admiration. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    75 

A  bloody  and  furious  man  in  combat,  but  one 
cool  and  calculating  in  council.  A  master  of 
artillery,  taught  by  the  one  great  master.  To 
wit,  a  commander  of  Toulon,  Laon,  Dego, 
La  Favorita;  a  hero  of  Rivoli,  the  conqueror 
at  Mantua,  leader  of  the  "Terrible  Regiment," 
veteran  of  Lodi  and  Areola;  in  short,  a  cap- 
tain of  men,  Victor  Perrin,  a  Marshal  of 
France. 

The  ships  were  at  the  shore.  And  it  may 
interest  the  pacifists  of  Milwaukee  to  know  that 
their  beautiful  neighbourhood  was  the  objective 
of  this  crusade.  New  Orleans,  the  broad  basin 
of  the  Mississippi,  the  fair  fields  of  Kansas, 
the  margins  of  the  Great  Lakes,  and  then 
eventually  Canada  and  the  Citadel  of  Quebec 
— these  constituted  no  idle  dream  in  the  minds 
of  the  scalers  of  the  Alps  and  the  conquerors 
of  Venice. 

The  danger  that  threatened  the  United 
States  at  this  moment  was  the  greatest  it  has 
ever  faced.  Napoleon  Bonaparte's  restless 
ambition,  stirred  by  the  recollection  of  the 


76  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

former  power  of  France  in  America  had  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  reclaiming  the  ancient  dis- 
coveries of  La  Salle  and  striking  at  England 
through  the  valleys  of  the  great  river.  He 
was  setting  forth  upon  the  operation,  which 
Theodore  Lyman  says  justly  and  emphatically 
belonged  to  the  first  class  of  profound  com- 
prehensive plans.  He  had  at  his  command  the 
finest  army  in  the  world.  To  dream  even  that 
our  hasty  lines  of  volunteers  could  meet  this 
super-soldier  and  his  veterans  of  twenty  vic- 
torious pitched  battles  would  be  ridiculous. 
For  a  few  months  of  his  extraordinary  reign  he 
was  at  peace  with  the  world,  and  had  under  his 
orders  the  combined  fleets  of  France  and 
Spain  to  transport  his  stores  and  his  army. 

He  was  to  make  his  landing  at  New  Or- 
leans. This  in  itself  would  have  been  simple 
enough,  much  as  it  might  infuriate  this  coun- 
try. For  New  Orleans  belonged  ostensibly  to 
Spain,  but  really  to  him.  He  was  coming 
under  colour  of  title.  But  more  to  the  point, 
from  a  military  point  of  view,  he  would  be 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    77 

landing  where  he  already  had  possession,  and 
could  meet  with  no  opposition. 

The  United  States  was  in  an  uproar.  The 
more  so  that  they  did  not  know  what  to  expect. 
For  while  the  soldier  prepared  to  strike,  he  em- 
ployed a  professional  liar,  an  inscrutable  and 
double-faced  poker  player  named  Talleyrand, 
to  temporize  and  conceal  his  intentions.  This 
gentleman,  who  held  the  position  of  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  acted  accordingly. 

At  the  time  this  scheme  was  concocted.  New 
Orleans,  including  both  banks  of  the  Missis- 
sippi for  some  miles,  as  well  as  the  coast  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Florida,  and  the  entire 
country  west  of  the  river,  belonged  to  Spain. 
This  was  in  the  year  1800.  Although  it  be- 
longed to  Spain  without  a  question,  the  hardy 
frontiersmen  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  had  de- 
termined to  seize  it,  willy-nilly,  and  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington,  albeit  an  ultra-demo- 
cratic and  pacific  administration,  was  obliged 
to  take  the  same  view.  They  were  straining 
every  nerve  to  buy  New  Orleans,  or  make  some 


78  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

sort  of  Bryanite  compromise  that  would  keep 
the  Westerners  from  invading  the  town. 
They  were  not  in  such  a  fearful  hurry,  because 
any  one  could  see  that  Spain  was  on  the  de- 
cline, and  would  lose  the  territory  sooner  or 
later  from  pure  senihty  and  impotence. 

At  the  court  of  Spain  was  a  crafty  and 
clever  rascal  named  Godoy,  who  boasted  the 
title  of  "The  Prince  of  Peace."  He  was  the 
favourite  of  the  Queen,  and  had  control  of  the 
tiller  of  state,  the  King  being  little  better  than 
a  nincompoop,  and  as  helpless  as  a  ward  in 
chancery.  When  Napoleon  made  one  of  his 
dynamic  decisions  to  secure  Louisiana,  it  was 
to  this  bounder  that  he  made  his  proposition. 
It  was  an  offer  to  buy.  Very  much  the  same 
sort  of  proposition  the  Standard  Oil  is  cred- 
ited with  having  made  in  its  palmy  days: 
"You'll  take  what  I  give  you,  for  your  health." 

What  he  offered  was  the  Kingdom  of  Etru- 
ria  for  the  Royal  Spanish  Duke  of  Parma  and 
one  of  Talleyrand's  celebrated  promises  that 
France  would  not  sell  Louisiana  to  any  one 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    79 

else.  That  the  Kingdom  of  Etruria  belonged 
to  the  Duke  of  Tuscany,  and  that  Talleyrand's 
promises  were  an  international  joke  made  no 
difference  to  Napoleon.  The  Prince  of  Peace 
squirmed  and  stalled.  John  Adams,  who 
knew  everything,  and  wrote  it  in  his  diary,  says 
he  was  as  cool  and  adroit  as  a  picador  ma- 
noeuvring before  a  maddened  bull.  He  bribed 
Lucien  Bonaparte,  the  First  Consul's  brother, 
who  had  been  sent  to  close  the  deal.  He  put 
off  the  signing  of  the  deed  by  every  subterfuge 
known  to  diplomacy.  Napoleon  knew  how  to 
handle  this.  Whatever  he  was,  he  was  not  a 
bluffer.  His  next  dispatch  was  in  his  most 
masterful  style: 

"It  is  at  the  moment  when  the  First  Con- 
sul gives  such  strong  proofs  of  his  considera- 
tion for  the  King  of  Spain  and  places  a  prince 
of  his  house  upon  the  throne  which  is  fruit  of 
the  victories  of  French  arms,  that  a  tone  is 
taken  toward  the  French  Republic  such  as 
might  be  taken  with  impunity  toward  the  Re- 
public of  San  Marino." 


80         DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

This,  from  a  man  whose  cannon  balls  in- 
variably followed  his  dispatches,  was  too  much 
for  the  Prince  of  Peace.  He  had  the  deed 
made  without  delay,  and  delivered,  as  agreed, 
in  the  greatest  secrecy.  Needless  to  add  that 
the  Duke  of  Parma  never  got  his  kingdom,  and 
that  the  other  promise  was  never  even  noticed 
thereafter. 

Napoleon  then  notified  Decres,  his  Minis- 
ter of  Marine,  that  his  intention  was  to  take 
possession  of  Louisiana  in  the  shortest  possible 
time,  and  gave  orders  as  follows : 

"Let  me  know  the  number  of  men  you  think 
necessary,  both  infantry  and  artillery.  Pre- 
sent me  a  plan  for  organizing  the  colony,  both 
military  and  civil,  for  works,  fortifications,  etc. 
Make  a  map  of  the  coast  from  St.  Augustine  to 
Mexico,  and  a  geographical  description  of  the 
different  counties  of  Louisiana,  with  resources 
of  each." 

He  then  sent  10,000  men  and  a  famous  gen- 
eral to  subdue  the  Island  of  Santo  Domingo 
for  a  base  and,  as  we  have  seen,  began  mobil- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    81 

izing  a  splendid  corps  under  Marshal  Victor 
for  the  main  event. 

Meanwhile,  we  had  as  minister  in  Paris  one 
of  the  ablest  of  the  galaxy  of  Revolutionary 
stars.  Robert  R.  Livingston,  of  the  famous 
New  York  family,  was  of  ambassadorial  cali- 
bre second  to  none.  He  began  to  suspect  this 
transfer.  He  knew  at  all  events  that  some 
dangerous  intrigue  was  in  the  air.  He  wrote 
to  James  Madison,  Secretary  of  State,  on 
January  13, 1802: 

"By  the  secrecy  and  duplicity  practised  rel- 
ative to  this  object,  it  is  clear  to  me  that  they 
apprehend  some  opposition  on  the  part  of 
America  to  their  plans. 

"There  never  was  a  government  where  less 
could  be  done  by  negotiations  than  here. 
There  are  no  people,  no  legislature,  no  coun- 
sellors. One  man  is  everything.  *  *  *  He 
seldom  asks  advice  and  never  hears  it  unasked. 
His  ministers  are  mere  clerks,  and  his  legisla- 
ture and  counsellors  parade  officers." 

There  it  is.     Historically  it  is  small  wonder 


82  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

we  are  throwing  our  weight  against  the  Hohen- 
zollerns.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  Repub- 
lic the  one-man  despotism  has  been  incessantly 
planning  our  destruction  in  secret.  It  is  now 
our  final  determination  to  be  rid  of  predatory 
powers  that  consult  neither  parliaments  nor 
peoples,  and  apart  from  the  principles  in- 
volved, hard  historical  experience  has  shown  us 
that  it  is  only  from  such  as  these  that  our  demo- 
cratic government  and  our  peaceful  country  is 
endangered.  Napoleon  was  the  first.  The 
Kaiser  is  the  last.  But  there  were  many  in  be- 
tween, of  whom,  more  hereafter. 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  President.  Pas- 
sionately followed  by  many,  and  hated  with 
fury  by  others  from  that  day  to  this,  he  was 
the  founder  of  the  great  school  of  government 
of  which  Woodrow  Wilson  is  the  latest  ex- 
ponent. The  careers  of  the  two  men  in  the 
presidential  chair  bear  a  striking  resemblance. 

In  domestic  affairs  Jefferson  was  the  de- 
voted champion  of  "the  plain  people,"  whose 
ambition  to  translate  the  simple  philosophy  of 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    83 

Christian  justice  and  fair  dealing  into  legisla- 
tive enactment  was  the  more  startling  to  en- 
trenched "special  privilege"  because  with  all 
his  democratic  convictions  he  rode  a  pusillani- 
mous Congress  with  an  iron  bit  and  cruel  spurs. 

In  foreign  aflfairs  he  believed  with  the  paci- 
fists that  armies  and  navies  were  useless.  He 
also  held  the  opinion,  derived  from  his  dislike 
of  their  manners,  that  the  English  were  a  peo- 
ple to  be  rude  to.  Otherwise  his  idea  of  di- 
plomacy consisted  of  sympathy  for  the  French 
Revolution  and  an  uneasy  conscience  with  re- 
gard to  his  impossible  Spanish-American 
neighbours. 

He  was  unable  to  reconcile  their  haughty 
unreasonableness,  his  constituent's  warlike  in- 
tentions, and  his  own  earnest  desires  for  the 
"rule  of  reason." 

When  he  received  the  intelligence  from  Liv- 
ingston that  Napoleon  had  secretly  purchased 
the  Middle  West  and  the  mouth  of  the  Missis- 
sippi he  turned  a  political  and  philosophical 
somersault.    Those    who    supposed,    because 


84  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

he  was  patient  and  tolerant  that  he  was  weak, 
or  because  he  was  mistaken  that  he  had  to  be 
consistent,  were  given  a  shock.  He  called  for 
80,000  volunteers.  He  began  to  build  his 
navy.  He  saw  and  acted  upon  the  one  obvious 
and  constant  proposition  in  our  whole  diplo- 
matic history.  Which  was — and  is — that  the 
only  force  on  earth  that  prevented  our  humilia- 
tion at  will  was  the  navy  of  Great  Britain. 
And  he  forgot  all  about  his  "no  alliance"  shib- 
boleth, and  his  antipathy  to  the  snug  little 
island. 

The  historian  says  that  he  attempted  to  gain 
Louisiana  by  intimidation  and  guile.  And 
adds  that  "when  Bonaparte  was  the  one  to  be 
frightened  and  Talleyrand  the  one  to  be  hood- 
winked, the  naivete  of  the  proceedings  becomes 
rather  ludicrous." 

The  only  reason  this  view  was  ever  adopted 
has  been  that  our  chroniclers  have  been  loath 
to  grant  the  inestimable  obligation  we  were  un- 
der to  the  English.  It  was  not  a  bluff  that 
Jefferson  made  even  though  birds  were  still 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    85 

roosting  in  the  pines  that  were  to  make  his 
navy,  and  80,000  soldiers  were  still  on  paper. 
He  made  a  threat — and  a  threat  so  powerful 
that  even  Napoleon  might  think  twice  before 
he  defied  it. 

But  first  he  had  recourse  to  London.  From 
Rufus  King,  at  that  capital,  he  obtained  the 
artillery  for  his  defence.  King  informed  him 
that  Mr.  Addington,  then  Secretary  for  For- 
eign Affairs,  had  frankly  stated  that  in  case 
a  war  should  happen,  it  would  be  one  of  Eng- 
land's first  steps  to  take  New  Orleans.  He 
made  it  very  plain  that  they  would  not  keep  it, 
but  that  they  would  give  it  to  the  United 
States.  He  concluded  that  America  could  rest 
assured  that  nothing  should  be  done  injurious 
to  her  interests. 

So  Mr.  Jefferson,  armed  with  the  control  of 
the  Atlantic,  and  the  guns  of  his  brother,  be- 
gan a  diplomatic  duel  with  the  Young  Con- 
queror. He  sent  James  Monroe  to  Paris  on 
March  8,  1803,  with  instructions  to  buy  New 


86  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Orleans.  So  much  for  the  rule  of  reason. 
His  intimidation  was  conveyed  in  another  doc- 
ument, by  no  means  either  naive  or  ludicrous. 
It  said: 

"If  the  French  Government,  instead  of 
friendly  arrangements  or  viev^s,  should  be 
found  to  meditate  hostilities,  or  to  have  formed 
projects,  which  will  constrain  the  United  States 
to  resort  to  hostilities,  such  conmiunications  are 
then  to  be  held  with  the  British  Government, 
as  will  sound  its  dispositions  and  invite  its  con- 
currence in  the  war.  *  *  *" 

A  later  dispatch  of  JeJBFerson's  shows  that 
the  eternal  struggle  against  despotism  is  not 
new,  and  that  it  is  no  novelty  to  find  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  America  in 
the  cause: 

"From  the  moment  that  France  takes  pos- 
session of  New  Orleans  *  *  we  must  marry 
ourselves  to  the  British  Fleet  and  Nation.  We 
must  turn  all  our  attention  to  a  maritime  force, 
*  *  and  having  formed  and  connected  to- 
gether with  a  power  which  may  render  rein- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    87 

forcements  of  her  settlement  here  impossible 
to  France,  make  the  first  cannon  which  shall 
be  fired  in  Europe  the  signal  for  the  tearing 
up  of  any  settlement  she  may  have  made,  and 
for  holding  the  two  continents  of  America  in 
sequestration  for  the  common  purposes  of  the 
United  British  and  American  Nations." 

But  at  this  point  the  analogy  between  the 
Kaiser  and  Napoleon  ends.  The  Little  Cor- 
poral made  his  decisions  like  lightning.  But 
if  they  were  wrong,  like  lightning  he  reversed 
them.  And  it  didn't  take  him  three  years  to 
find  out  his  mistakes. 

Let  us  now  return  to  Paris,  where  the  expe- 
ditionary legion  was  expected  hourly  to  start, 
and  where  a  popular  assembly  was  pointing 
with  pride  to  a  great  new  dominion. 

For  a  moment,  that  bright  morning  of  April 
7th,  all  was  quiet  on  the  Place  de  la  Con- 
corde. Ministers  had  an  hour's  breathing 
spell.  Pages  might  yawn  behind  the  statuary. 
The  brilUant-coated  guards  might  stand  at 
ease,  and  couriers,  booted  and  spurred,  snatch 


88  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

a  drink  and  a  kiss  at  the  Sign  of  the  Dead  Rat. 
An  unwonted  cahn  pervaded  the  ancient  palace 
of  the  wicked  Catherine  de  Medicis.  For  tlie 
Great  Napoleon  was  taking  his  bath. 

If  I  am  obhged  to  introduce  this  incompar- 
able soldier,  this  astute  diplomat,  this  "Prince 
of  Adventurers,"  clad  in  no  greater  majesty 
than  water  pearly  and  aromatic  with  salts  and 
perfumes,  it  is  not  my  fault.  It  is  there  that 
history  discovers  him,  disclosing  for  the  first 
time  high  reasons  of  state  why  the  Conqueror 
of  the  World  will  not  face  T.  Jefferson  and  his 
four  frigates  drawn  up  in  dry-dock  in  the  inter- 
ests of  Universal  Peace. 

There  was  a  scratch  on  the  door.  It  was  his 
valet  Rustan's  signal.  The  door  opened,  and 
in  went  two  brothers  of  the  bathing  Consul. 
They  were  Lucien  and  Joseph.  They  had 
heard  some  rumour  that  Louisiana  was  to  be 
deserted.  They  rushed  up  in  the  name  of  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  to  forbid  the  alienation 
of  the  people's  territory.  Ensued  a  scene  not 
only  illuminating  the  diplomatic  contest  under 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    89 

review,  but  instructive  of  the  arbitrary  meth- 
ods which  were  at  once  Napoleon's  grandeur 
and  his  curse: 

"After  some  preliminary  discussion  Joseph 
at  last  broke  in  quite!  biiisquely : 

"  'Well,  you  say  nothing  about  your  famous 
plan.  Mi:^-   • 


"'Yes,'  said  the  First  ConstiTf;^*  *  *  'only 
take  note,  Lucien,  I  have  made  up  my  mind 
to  sell  Louisiana  to  the  Americans.  *  *  *  ' 

" '  *  *  *  But  it  is  too  unconstitutional.' 

"These  precise  words  were  then  thundered 
forth,  according  to  Lucien  Bonaparte's  ac- 
coimt: 

"  'Constitution!  Unconstitutional!  Repub- 
lic! National  Sovereignty!  Great  words — 
fine  phrases!  Do  you  think  you  are  still  at 
the  Club  of  St.  Maximin?  We  are  past  that, 
you  had  better  believe.  Parhleu!  You  phrase 
it  nobly.  Unconstitutional!  It  becomes  you 
well.  Sir  Knight  of  the  Constitution,  to  talk 
that  way  to  me.  *  *  *  Go  on — go  on.  That's 
quite  too  fine  a  thing  to  be  cut  short.  Sir  Ora- 


90  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

tor  of  the  Clubs.  But  at  the  same  time  take 
note  of  this,  you  and  Monsieur  Joseph,  that 
I  shall  do  just  as  I  please;  that  I  detest  with- 
out fearing  them — your  friends  the  Jacobins, 
not  one  of  whom  shall  remain  in  France  if,  a» 
I  hope,  things  continue  to  rest  in  my  hands — 
and  th<''^   '  ,1  snap  my  fingers  at  you  and 

your  r  -esentation.' " 

If  till  ating  in  showing  the  gentle 

democrat!    ... ^  of  the  gentleman  we  had  to 

deal  with,  another  passage  of  the  same  conver- 
sation settles  d^  v  why  he  proposed  to  re- 
linquish this  kingdom;  > 

"  *It  was  certainly  worth  while,'  urged  Na- 
poleon, 'first,  to  sell  when  you  could  what  you 
were  certain  to  lose.  For  the  English,  who 
have  seen  the  Colony  given  back  to  us  with 
great  displeasure,  are  aching  for  a  chance  to 
capture  it,  and  it  will  be  their  first  coup  de 
main  in  case  of  war.  *  *  *  You  see  our  land 
forces  have  fought  and  will  fight  victoriously 
against  all  Europ^.  But  as  to  the  sea,  my 
dear  fellow,  you  must  know  that  there  we  have 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    91 

to  lower  the  flag — ^we  and  all  the  powers  on  the 

continent.    America  perhaps  some  day ; 

but  I'll  not  talk  of  that.  The  English  navy  is 
and  long  will  be  too  dominant;  we  shall  not 
^equal  it.'  " 

So  it  appears  that  the  First  Consul  was  en- 
tirely of  Jefferson's  opinion.  And  that  Jeffer- 
son was  quite  right  in  his  violent  determination 
not  to  have  him  as  a  neighbour,  that  is,  if  bland 
contempt  for  parliaments  and  constitutions 
was  one  sign  of  a  citizen  undesirable  in  Mon- 
tana, then  as  now. 

Napoleon  had  one  kind  of  intelligence  sel- 
dom granted  to  those  of  intrenched  authority 
— whether  political  or  financial.  He  could  see 
the  storm  coming,  and  could  yield  in  time  with 
grace  and  enthusiasm.  Talk  had  no  interest 
for  him. 

So  he  called  in  the  Marquis  de  Barbe-Mar- 
bois,  one-time  Minister  to  the  United  States 
and  jerked  out  som^  of  his  pithy  phrases  at 
him: 

"I  know  the  worth  of  Louisiana.  *  *  *  I 


92  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

have  recovered  it  on  paper  through  some  lines 
in  a  treaty;  but  I  have  hardly  done  so  when 
I  am  about  to  lose  it  again.     The  English 

*  *  *  have  already  twenty  vessels  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.  They  swagger  over  those  seas  as 
sovereigns.  *  *  *  The  conquest  of  Louisiana 
will  be  easy  if  they  will  only  take  the  trouble 
to  descend  upon  it,  *  *  *  even  a  short  delay 
will  leave  me  nothing  but  a  vain  title  to  trans- 
mit to  those  Republicans,  whose  friendship  I 
seek.  Irresolution  and  deliberation  are  no 
longer  in  season.  It  is  not  only  New  Orleans 
I  will  cede ;  it  is  the  whole  colony  without  reser- 
vation. *  *  *  I  direct  you  to  negotiate  this 
affair  with  the  envoys  of  the  United  States 

*  *  *  have  an  interview  this  very  day  with 
Mr.  Livingston.  *  *  *  I  want  50,000,000 
francs,  and  for  less  than  that  sum  I  will  not 
treat." 

It  now  developed  upon  Livingston  and 
James  Monroe,  who  had  been  sent  to  collabo- 
rate with  him,  to  conduct  this  momentous  proj- 
ect with  Barbe-Marbois.     They  had  instruc 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    93 

tions  to  buy  New  Orleans.  They  had  the  Brit- 
ish Fleet  up  their  sleeves.  But  those  who 
presume  that  our  ambassadors  have  been  an 
ornamental  and  negligible  quantity  in  the  fate 
of  this  country  would  do  well  to  observe  that 
these  men,  weeks  away  from  home,  took  upon 
themselves  the  purchase  of  this  great  territory 
without  a  scrap  of  orders.  The  details  of  these 
ambassadorial  contests  always  have  a  great 
interest. 

Livingston  describes  the  opening  thus: 
"While  he  (Monroe)  and  several  other  gentle- 
men were  at  dinner  with  me,  I  observed  the 
Minister  of  the  Treasury  walking  in  my  gar- 
den. *  *  *  While  we  were  taking  coffee  he 
came  in,  and  after  being  some  time  in  the  room, 
we  strolled  into  the  next  room,  when  he  told 
me  *  *  *  that  he  iiiought  I  might  have  some- 
thing particular  to  say  to  him,  and  had  taken 
the  first  opportunity  to  call  on  me." 

We  have  the  advantage  of  Livingston  as  the 
great  international  bargain  began.  The  be- 
ginning was   ingenious   enough,   considering 


94  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

that  Barbe-Marbois  had  Napoleon's  order  to 
sell  without  delay.  But  Livingston  and  Mon- 
roe didn't  know  that.  And  they  proceeded  to 
the  point  and  "stated  the  consequence  of  any 
delay  on  this  subject,  as  it  would  enable  Britain 
to  take  possession,  who  would  readily  relin- 
quish it  to  us." 

Barbe-Marbois  countered  with  his  version  of 
Napoleon's  conversation.  He  reported  the 
First  Consul  to  have  said:  "Well,  you  have 
charge  of  the  treasury,  let  them  give  you  one 
hundred  million,  and  pay  their  own  claims  and 
take  the  whole  country." 

Right  then  and  there,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, this  tremendous  matter  determining  the 
destiny  of  our  country  was  as  good  as  settled. 
The  commissioners  knew  that  they  had  won. 
The  negotiations  now  descended  from  the 
plane  of  battle  and  wars  and  dynasties  into  a 
first-rate  bargain-counter  dispute  as  to  price. 
Monroe  determined  to  go  as  far  as  50,000,000 
francs  on  his  own  responsibility.  He  offered 
forty. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    95 

On  April  30th,  1803,  the  convention  was 
signed.  James  Monroe  and  Robert  R.  Liv- 
ingston had  been  sent  to  buy  a  town.  They 
brought  back  a  kingdom  richer  than  Babylon 
and  broader  than  France.  The  price  was 
60,000,000  francs,  and  the  assumption  by  the 
United  States  of  the  then  existing  claims  of 
Americans  against  France  for  depredations  on 
the  high  seas. 

From  the  great  champion  of  Continental 
tyranny  in  the  Nineteenth  Century  had  been 
wrung  the  training  ground  whence  in  the 
Twentieth  were  to  come  armies  to  help  deal  the 
final  blow  to  that  same  kind  of  tyranny. 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 

THE  HUMILIATION  OF  IMPO- 
TENCE.   A  STUDY  IN  PIRACY 

The  "Shadow  of  God"  and  "Emulator  of  Alexander" 
Writes  a  Dispatch  to  "The  Amiable  James  Monroe, 
Emperor  of  America" — Courtly  Frightfulness,  vs. 
Truculent  Pacifism — John  Adams  has  a  Pleasant 
Chat  with  a  Pirate  in  London — ^An  Algerian  Price 
List  of  American  Sailors — Boston  Mariners  Left  in 
Turkish  Slavery — The  Diplomatic  Triumph  of  a 
Courteous  Murderer — ^Blackmail  the  Alternative  of 
a  Navy — The  Portrait  of  George  Washington — 
Stephen  Decatur  Demonstrates  the  Persuasive  Value 
of  Gunpowder  in  Diplomatic  Discourse. 

DURING  the  year  1816  the  President 
of  the  United  States  received  an 
amiable  and  condescending  message 
from  a  subaltern  of  the  greatest  person  that 
ever  lived.  That  is,  if  we  can  believe  his  own 
modest  description  of  himself,  constituting  the 

Q6 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS  97 

leading  paragraph  of  the  wonderful  letter: 
"With  the  aid  and  assistance  of  Divinity, 
and  in  the  reign  of  our  sovereign,  the  asylum 
of  the  world,  powerful  and  great  monarch, 
transactor  of  all  good  actions,  the  best  of  men, 
the  shadow  of  God,  director  of  the  good  order, 
King  of  Kings,  supreme  ruler  of  the  world, 
Emperor  of  the  Earth,  emulator  of  Alexander 
the  Great,  possessor  of  great  forces,  sovereign 
of  the  two  worlds  and  of  the  seas.  King  of 
Arabia  and  Persia,  Emperor,  son  of  an  Em- 
peror and  Conqueror,  Mohammed  Khan  (may 
God  end  his  life  with  prosperity,  and  his  reign 
be  everlasting  and  glorious),  his  humble  and 
obedient  servant,  actual  sovereign  governor 
and  Chief  of  Algiers,  submitted  for  ever  to 
the  orders  of  his  Imperial  Majesty's  noble 
throne,  Omar  Pasha  (may  his  government  be 
happy  and  prosperous) . 

"To  his  Majesty,  the  Emperor  of  America, 
its  adjacent  dependent  provinces  and  coasts, 
and  wherever  his  government  may  extend,  our 
noble  friend,  the  support  of  the  Kings  of  the 


98  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Nation  of  Jesus,  the  pillar  of  all  Christian  sov- 
ereigns, the  most  glorious  among  the  princes, 
elected  amongst  many  lords  and  nobles,  the 
happy,  the  great,  the  amiable  James  Madison, 
Emperor  of  America  (may  his  reign  be  happy 
and  glorious,  and  his  life  long  and  prosper- 
ous), wishing  him  long  possession  of  the  seal 
of  his  blessed  throne,  and  long  life  and  health, 
Amen.  Hoping  that  your  health  is  in  good 
state,  I  inform  you  that  mine  is  excellent, 
thanks  to  the  Supreme  Being,  constantly  ad- 
dressing my  humble  prayers  to  the  Almighty 
for  your  felicity." 

Could  anything  be  more  polite  and  ingra- 
tiating than  this? 

He  continued  in  the  same  pleasant  and 
genial  vein  to  say  that  he  had  been  dehghted 
to  receive  the  American  Ambassador  ( Stephen 
Decatur,  who  had  arrived  with  the  guns  of 
three  warships  trained  on  the  palace)  and  to 
make  a  treaty  such  as  he  suggested.  But  he 
regretted  to  say  that  for  a  slight  objection  this 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    99 

treaty  was  not  entirely  "practical"  and,  in  con- 
sequence : 

"I  inform  you,  therefore,  that  a  treaty  of 
peace  having  been  signed  between  America 
and  us,  during  the  reign  of  Hassan  Pasha, 
twenty  years  past,  I  propose  to  renew  said 
treaty  on  the  same  basis  stipulated  in  it,  and 
if  you  agree  to  it,  our  friendship  will  be  solid 
and  lasting. 

"I  intended  to  be  on  higher  terms  of  amity 
with  our  friends  the  Americans  than  ever  be- 
fore, being  the  first  nation  with  whom  I  made 
peace ;  *  *  *  we  hope  that  with  the  assistance 
of  God  you  will  answer  this  our  letter,  imme- 
diately after  you  shall  have  a  perfect  knowl- 
edge of  its  contents.  *  *  * 

* 'Requesting  only  that  you  will  have  the 
goodness  to  remove  yoiu*  consul  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, assuring  you  that  it  will  be  very  agree- 
able to  us.  These  are  our  last  words  to  you, 
and  we  pray  God  to  keep  you  in  his  holy  guard. 

"Written  in  the  year  of  the  Hegira  1231, 


100        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

the  20th  day  of  the  moon  Dge  Mazu-1  Covel, 
corresponding  to  1815,  April  24th.  Signed 
in  our  weU-beloved  city  of  Algiers. 

"Omar,  Son  of  Mohammed, 

Conquerer  and  Great." 

We  recommend  this  dispatch  to  our  friend 
Francisco  Villa,  and  other  kindred  spirits  of 
the  chaparral,  as  an  improvement  on  their 
own  method  of  communication.  They  need 
not  be  too  proud  to  receive  lessons  in  procedure 
from  Omar,  Son  of  Mohammed.  As  a  practi- 
tioner of  the  Trade  of  Frightf  ulness  and  a  suc- 
cessful follower  of  the  business  of  f reebooting, 
he  still  remains  without  a  peer.  Beside  him 
the  Mexican  is  a  kindergarten  teacher.  It  is 
true  that  Omar  was  a  seafaring  man.  But  all 
the  more  must  have  been  his  natural  tempta- 
tion to  use  dreadful  and  furious  language. 
Being  a  master  in  the  pastime  of  robbing  and 
enslaving  trustful  and  helpless  Americans,  he 
must  have  had  some  weighty  diplomatic  reason 
for  the  poetical  and  gentle  nature  of  his 
dispatches. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    101 

It  is  a  strange  thing  that  every  generation 
has  to  learn  its  lessons  by  experience.  Even 
a  slight  study  of  the  career  of  the  Dey  of  Al- 
giers would  have  saved  two  classes  of  modern 
theorists  a  great  deal  of  brain  fag  and  needless 
expensive  experiments.  To  the  believer  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  divine  right  of  plimder  and  the 
joys  of  running  amuck,  the  learned  Moslem 
would  have  taught  that  the  most  efficient  vocal 
accompaniment  is  by  no  means  nasty  language, 
bluff,  bluster,  and  threats.  On  the  contrary, 
these  have  a  way  of  arousing  and  multiplying 
enemies  beyond  endurance.  The  proper  way 
is  to  be  polite — and  to  speak  in  tones  so  exces- 
sively soft  and  reasonable,  not  to  say  flatter- 
ing, that  only  the  basest  sceptic  can  doubt 
their  beneficence. 

The  other  class  of  theorists  would  have 
ceased  to  exist  upon  such  a  study.  These  are 
the  ever-increasing  lovers  of  humanity  who 
carry  the  principles  of  fair  play  and  justice  to 
the  conclusion  that,  if  let  alone,  "all  men"  will 
respond  in  kind,  and  who  believe  in  conse- 


102        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

quence  that  any  resort  to  force  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  lives  and  property  of  citizens  is 
foolish  in  policy,  if  not  wicked  in  morals. 

Before  being  disillusioned  by  the  apparition 
of  Napoleon  and  the  assumption  of  responsi- 
bility, which  is  a  great  dispeller  of  illusions, 
Thomas  Jefferson  might  fairly  be  catalogued 
among  the  latter  class.  His  chief  abomination 
was  a  navy,  and  the  foundation  of  his  faith  that 
ultimate  good-will  was  to  be  found  in  all  men 
who  were  fairly  treated.  Those  who  believe 
the  same  to-day  will  be  sorry  to  learn  how  this 
worked  in  Algiers. 

The  entertaining  dispatch  above  quoted 
came  along  toward  the  end  of  the  chapter,  and 
is  given  more  as  an  example  of  a  diplomatic 
curiosity  than  as  part  of  the  story.  But  in  this 
connection  it  is  worth  observing  that  this  cheer- 
ful document  was  in  exact  fact  an  ultimatum 
from  this  jovial  despot  to  the  effect  that  he 
would  immediately  waylay  and  capture  all 
American  merchantmen  venturing  beyond 
Gibraltar  and  enslave  the  crews  in  lieu  of  a  big 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    103 

ransom,  unless  the  United  States  agreed  to  pay 
him  a  small  matter  of  $21,000  a  year  tribute,  as 
we  had  paid  the  late  lamented  Hassan  Pasha 
(may  the  grace  of  God  rest  his  beautiful  soul) . 
That  an  Algerian  pirate  on  the  sands  of  Africa 
should  have  had  the  nerve  to  address  such  a 
demand,  even  in  poetic  prose,  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  involves  a  disgraceful 
story,  which  we  certainly  would  not  print,  ex- 
cept for  the  benefit  of  the  theorists  and  pacifists 
aforementioned.  And  to  prove  for  our  own 
satisfaction  the  impotence  of  language  as  the 
only  national  ordnance.  At  the  same  time  the 
deUcate  attention  paid  our  envoys  and  the 
courtly  language  of  the  pirate's  communica- 
tions make  a  picture  so  charming  as  almost  to 
spoil  the  moral. 

The  Dey  of  Algiers,  the  Emperor  of  Mo- 
rocco, the  Bey  of  Tripoli,  and  Hamouda 
Pasha,  a  ruler  of  Tunis,  under  the  firm  name  of 
the  Barbary  States,  constituted  in  themselves 
the  foremost  and  most  celebrated  institute  of 
piracy  ever  seen  on  the  globe.    Operating  from 


104        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

scenes  famous  since  the  dim  ages  of  the  Argo- 
nauts, from  among  the  ruins  of  the  most  splen- 
did kingdoms  of  antiquity,  along  those  dreamy 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean  "where  may  be 
traced  the  track  of  the  hero  of  more  than  one 
epic,"  the  fleet  corsairs  of  these  mediaeval  sul- 
tans made  a  romantic  picture  and  added  variety 
and  interest  to  those  fond  of  wild  adventure 
and  desperate  escapes.  To  all  others  that 
passed  through  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  they 
were  a  curse  and  terror.  The  sight  of  their 
sails  and  the  Turk's  Head  on  the  horizon  was 
signal  for  utter  despair.  The  barest  record 
of  their  atrocities  would  not  bear  repetition. 

In  the  year  1783  the  jolly  old  Dey  was  as- 
tonished to  observe  a  new  flag  serenely  sailing 
down  the  coast.  No  armoured  convoy  was  in 
sight.  His  treasurer  recorded  no  goodly  tri- 
bute gi^'ing  license  to  Stars  and  Stripes  to  sail 
the  seas.  The  impudence  of  the  performance 
was  astounding.  Hardly  conceiving  that  good 
fortune  of  such  easy  prey  could  continue,  the 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    105 

Dey  held  communion  with  his  partners.  The 
immediate  result  was  a  conversation  in  Lon- 
don between  John  Adams  and  a  suave  and 
tawny  gentleman  from  Tripoli  "who  addressed 
him  with  much  condescension  and  patronage." 
Johnson  goes  on  to  say  that  "the  Tripolitan 
conceded  that  America  might  be  a  great  coun- 
try, but  he  pointed  out  that  its  ships  could  not 
navigate  the  Mediterranean  Sea  without  the 
permission  of  the  Barbary  States.  He  was 
willing  to  negotiate  a  treaty  between  the 
United  States  and  Tripoh  for  $150,000,  or  with 
all  four  of  the  Barbary  States  for  $600,000." 
When  Adams  tried  to  reduce  the  price,  the 
Corsair  in  the  most  urbane  manner  suggested 
that  he  had  actually  forgotten  the  most  im- 
portant item  of  all,  a  small  matter  of  10%  for 
himself. 

The  feelings  of  sturdy  old  John  Adams 
must  have  been  apoplectic  in  being  compelled 
to  conduct  such  a  negotiation — and  all  the 
more  at  its  failure.     For  while  Congress  would 


106        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

not  fight,  it  could  not  pay  any  such  sum  as 
this.  But  if  this  blackmail  was  bad,  worse 
was  to  come. 

In  the  following  July  the  long-suffering 
Dey  sent  forth  eight  sails  through  the  Strait 
of  Gibraltar  on  a  merry  hunt.  These  fell  in 
with  the  schooner  Maria,  of  Boston.  Scim- 
itar in  hand  the  buccaneers  swarmed  over  the 
rail  and  had  Isaac  Stephens,  captain,  Alex 
Forsythe,  mate,  and  six  Gloucester  sea- 
men tied  hand  and  foot  without  time  to  strug- 
gle. The  good  ship  Dauphin,  of  Philadelphia, 
fell  foul  of  the  outfit  on  the  way  home.  The 
delighted  Corsair  captain  confiscated  the  Yan- 
kee boats  and  the  cargoes  and  packed  the 
twenty-one  sailors  as  slaves  into  the  interior — 
and  waited. 

It  is  disgusting  to  relate  that  instead  of  a 
broadside  of  round  shot,  after  so  long  a  time 
there  turned  up  among  the  minarets  two  "am- 
bassadors" sent  by  Adams  from  London, 
Messrs.  Lamb  and  Randall.  The  old  pirate 
received  them  with  great  ceremony  and  marked 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    107 

hospitality.  He  was  very  attentive  and  agree- 
able. He  opened  the  conversation  by  saying 
that  he  had  followed  with  interest  the  exploits 
of  their  illustrious  countryman,  General  Wash- 
ington, and  felt  a  great  admiration  of  his  con- 
duct. That  since  he  never  expected  to  see  him, 
if  Congress  would  do  him  the  favour  to  send 
him  a  full-length  portrait  of  that  celebrated 
person,  he  would  hang  it  in  a  good  light  in  his 
palace  at  Algiers. 

In  regard  to  the  captives,  the  Dey  was  as 
cordial  as  any  good  merchant  to  a  valuable 
customer.  He  allowed  that  captives  were  be- 
coming more  and  more  expensive  to  get,  but 
that  he  would  make  a  special  discount  for 
the  sake  of  new  trade,  and  concluded  with  a 
magnanimous  schedule  of  prices,  as  fol- 
lows : 

3  Captains,  $6,000  each  . . . . . .,. . . .  $18,000 

9>  Mates,  $4,000  each . 8,000 

2  Passengers,  $4^,000  each ,. .,       8,000 

14  Seamen,  $1,400  each  (a  bargain).      19,600 

$53,600 


108        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Expense  of  Catching  and  Keeping 

Aforesaid   S,896 


Total  BiU    $59,496 

The  Americans  had  been  authorized  to  pay 
$200  apiece.  Failing  to  purchase  back  their 
countrymen,  they  tried  to  beg  them  back. 

The  American  sailors  were  left  in  slavery. 

Whether  this  inconceivable  action  was  the 
result  of  a  "peace  policy"  or  of  the  theory  then 
prevailing  against  the  building  of  a  fleet,  it  is 
equally  disgraceful.  The  diplomats  of  the  pe- 
riod had  their  fill  of  endeavours  to  treat  with 
brigands  without  any  recourse  to  force.  Their 
next  move  was  more  humiliating  still.  Failing 
themselves,  they  turned  to  a  European  "So- 
ciety for  the  Redemption  of  Captives,"  a  holy 
order  that  made  a  business  of  alleviating  as  far 
as  possible  the  horrors  of  this  bondage  in  Tur- 
key. This  order  informed  the  Continental 
Congress  that  it  would  be  of  no  use  to  try  to 
get  the  prisoners  for  a  reasonable  sum  if  money 
and  letters  were  continually  sent  to  better  their 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    109 

lot,  because  this  gave  the  pirates  an  idea  that 

they  were  "valuable."     So  the  next  step  taken 

by  this  peace  party  was  actually  to  refuse  the 

modest  drafts  of  a  Spanish  gentleman  helping 

to  keep  life  endurable  for  the  slaves,  and  the 

issuance  of  strict  instructions  that  the  poor 

creatures  should  be  made  to  suppose  they  had 

been  left  to  their  fate,  the  more  to  make  the 

I    Dey  anxious  for  his  bargain. 

This  didn't  work  either. 

Finally,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1789,  George 

Washington   was   elected    President    of   the 

United  States.     His  inclination  on  the  subject 

I    was  definite  enough.    But  he  is  not  the  only 

P     commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  of  the  United 

States  who  has  had  to  face  a  bad  situation 

without  any  forces.     Congress  had  recently 

taken  the  precaution  to  sell  the  only  warship 

they  owned,  and  had  again  commissioned  the 

holy  order  to  go  and  reason  with  the  Moslems. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State,  now 

felt  that  these  poor  sailors  had  suffered  enough. 

He  commissioned  John  Paul  Jones,  of  all  peo- 


110        DRAJVIATIC  MOMENTS 

pie,  to  go  on  a  mule  to  try  once  again  to 
buy  them  back.  How  this  suited  the  Captain 
of  the  Bonhomme  Richard  is  not  recorded — 
except  that  he  died  immediately,  before  he 
started. 

Meantime,  half  the  wretched  victims  also 
had  died,  and  the  rest  sent  a  plea  to  their  coun- 
try that  would  have  melted  a  stone  Moloch. 
In  1793,  the  Dey  had  a  banner  year.  He  gath- 
ered in  a  hundred  and  five  more  American  citi- 
zens. 

The  utter  futility  of  diplomatic  action  with 
these  gentry  had  one  obvious  and  beneficial  re- 
sult. Pubhc  opinion  in  the  country  would  no 
longer  stand  such  a  pitiful  attitude.  And 
when  the  patriarch  of  these  enslaved  mariners 
from  Boston  wrote,  "Your  Excellency  will 
perceive,  that  the  United  States  has  at  pres- 
ent no  alternative,  than  to  fit  out  with  the 
greatest  expedition  thirty  frigates  and  corsairs 
in  order  to  stop  those  sea  robbers  in  capturing 
American  vessels,"  the  navy  of  the  United 
States  was  born.    In  1794  Congress  author- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    111 

ized  the  President  to  build  six  frigates.  Three 
of  them  were  actually  completed  before  that 
valiant  body  retracted — three  that  were  des- 
tined to  put  the  fear  of  God  into  more  different 
kinds  of  scalawags  than  all  the  resolutions  of 
Congress  put  together  from  that  day  to  this — 
the  Constitution,  the  United  States  and  the 
Constellation, 

They  were  not  done  in  time,  however,  to 
keep  us  from  paying  the  cordial  old  Dey 
$642,500  cash,  commissions,  presents,  etc.,  for 
the  release  of  American  citizens,  and  for  sign- 
ing what  he  called  a  treaty.  By  this  document 
he  agreed  to  let  American  ships  sail  in  peace — 
and  we  agreed  to  give  him  a  matter  of  $21,000 
worth  of  naval  stores  and  other  friendly  little 
gratuities  every  year. 

The  amazing  attitude  of  "forbearance"  and 
supine  pacifism  taken  by  our  government  was 
not  ended  even  then.  The  following  incident, 
related  by  Lyman,  seems  almost  incredible — in- 
credible that  the  government  would  tolerate  it. 

"In  October,  1800,  the  Dey  signified  to  the 


112        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

(American)  Consul  his  intention  of  sending 
an  ambassador  to  the  Porte,  with  the  custom- 
ary presents,  in  the  Washington,  a  small 
American  frigate,  at  that  time  lying  in  the  har- 
bour of  Algiers.  It  may  well  be  imagined  that 
the  proposal  was  an  awkward  and  offensive 
one.  The  United  States  had  neither  consul 
nor  minister  at  Constantinople,  nor  any  sort 
of  treaty  with  any  of  the  Italian  states,  with 
some  of  whom  Algiers  was  then  at  war.  *  *  * 
To  the  representations,  both  judicious  and  rea- 
sonable, made  on  this  occasion,  the  Dey  threat- 
ened war,  plunder,  and  captivity,  and  declared 
he  had  selected  the  Washington  to  transport 
the  embassy  as  a  special  compliment.  *  *  * 
The  proclamation  of  his  Highness's  pleasure 
was  further  accompanied  with  another  pro- 
posal, also  of  an  embarrassing  nature,  to  hoist 
the  piratical  flag  of  the  Algerines  at  the  main 
top  gallant  mast  head  of  the  frigate.  It  was 
in  vain  the  barbarian  was  informed  that  the 
act  would  throw  the  frigate  out  of  commission; 
neither  the  Dey  nor  his  Minister  of  Marine 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    113 

would  curtail  a  tithe  of  the  demand,  and  this 
Corsair  flag,  bearing  the  turbanned  head  of 
Hali,  was  run  up  to  the  main  with  a  salute  of 
seven  guns — a  compliment  that  cost  the  United 
States  40,000  dollars." 

There  is  one  way,  and  only  one,  to  treat  with 
a  certain  class  of  persons.  And  they  are  met 
with  periodically  by  all  nations — as  well  as  all 
men.  Our  old  friend,  Omar,  Son  of  Moham- 
med, was  one  of  these.  And  the  proof  of  it  is 
that  when  he  finally  got  his  treatment  he 
ceased  to  be  a  leading  figure  in  either  buccaneer 
or  diplomatic  circles. 

It  came  about  this  way.  Concluding  that 
the  $378,363  received  by  him  and  his  illustrious 
predecessor  Pasha  was  after  all  a  paltry  pit- 
tance to  get  out  of  such  a  healthy  coward  as 
the  U.  S.  A.,  he  concluded  he  would  like  to 
have  $27,000  more.  His  annual  gift  also 
caused  him  some  slight  disappointment.  So 
in  the  most  polished  manner  he  invited  Mr. 
Lear,  our  consul,  to  depart  at  once,  and  sent 
forth  his  trusty  admiral,  Ruis  Hammida,  Son 


114        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

of  the  Desert,  with  the  whole  Algerine  Squad- 
ron to  kidnap  some  more  Yankees. 

But  he  selected  an  unfortunate  moment. 
This  was  in  1812,  and  American  merchantmen 
were  not  venturing  abroad.  He  got  a  bag  of 
only  eleven  prisoners.  But  as  soon  as  the  war 
was  over  he  learned  his  lesson,  as  mentioned 
above.  While  his  pirate  fleet  was  all  at  sea, 
one  fine  afternoon  there  appeared  at  the  very 
gates  of  his  palace  the  American  Squadron, 
veterans  of  battles  famous  in  history,  com- 
manded by  Commodore  Bainbridge.  And  on 
board  was  a  novel  and  unwelcome  kind  of  dip- 
lomat, named  Stephen  Decatur.  He  was  very 
brusque  and  rude  to  the  "Asylum  of  the 
World."  He  said  he  had  come  to  make  a 
treaty,  the  principal  article  of  which  was  that 
"no  stipulation  for  paying  any  tribute  to  Al- 
giers under  any  form  whatever  will  be  agreed 
to."  The  outraged  Son  of  Mohammed  wanted 
time  to  consider  it.  "Not  a  minute,"  said  De- 
catur. It  being  manifest  that  this  rude  am- 
bassador was  looking  forward  with  ill-con- 


^ 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    115 

cealed  pleasure  to  operating  his  guns,  by  lunch 
time  the  outraged  monarch  signed  the  treaty. 

After  the  squadron  left,  the  shrewd  old  sin- 
ner of  course  concluded  that  he  had  made  a 
grave  mistake  in  ever  leaving  his  former  graft. 
So  he  cooked  up  an  excuse,  drew  his  flotilla 
around  him,  and  forthwith  dispatched  the  dip- 
lomatic paper  given  at  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter. 

Further  diplomatic  discourse  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  arrival  of  Lord  Exmouth  with  a 
British  fleet  of  twenty  sail.  The  Dey  had 
come  to  believe  his  own  description  of  his  pow- 
ers, and  had  put  the  British  Consul  in  jail. 
And  without  any  preliminaries  the  Admiral 
opened  twenty  broadsides  on  the  towers  of  Alg- 
iers, and  knocked  the  place  into  a  rubbish  heap. 

After  the  receipt  of  fifty-one  thousand 
round  shot  the  Dey  came  out  and  swept  the 
ground  with  his  beard,  opened  up  his  jails, 
and  turned  cynic.  One  immediate  conse- 
quence was  his  signature  to  a  paper  tendered 
him  by  Commodore  Chaunccy,  U.  S.  N.,  read- 
ing as  follows ; 


116        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

"The  President  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Dey  of  Algiers,  being  desirous  to  restore 
and  maintain,  upon  a  stable  and  permanent 
footing,  the  relations  of  peace  and  good  un- 
derstanding between  the  two  powers,  and  for 
this  purpose  to  renew  the  treaty  of  peace  and 
amity  which  was  concluded  between  the  two 
states  by  William  Shaler  and  Commodore 
Stephen  Decatur  *  *  *  and  his  Highness 
Omar  Pasha,  Dey  of  Algiers  *  *  *  etc." 

It  is  hardly  possible  that  this  sort  of  game 
could  be  played  on  us  again  by  so  small  a 
band  of  freebooters.  But  there  is  abundant 
evidence  available  that  the  process  of  evolution 
has  not  yet  advanced  the  human  race  to  the 
point  where  the  same  tactics  are  impossible  in 
the  hands  of  more  powerful,  if  less  courteous, 
marauders.  And  it  is  just  as  well  to  remem- 
ber that  there  is  only  one  kind  of  diplomacy 
effective  with  such  gentry.  And  one  kind  of 
diplomat,  best  exemplified  in  the  person  of 
Stephen  Decatur. 


CHAPTEIt  EIGHT 

THE  BATTLE  FOR  DEMOCRACY. 
AN  ANGLO-SAXON  INHERITANCE 

George  Canning  Reveals  a  Plot  for  the  Extermina- 
tion of  Democracy — Richard  Rush  Sends  James 
Monroe  a  Literary  Bomb-Shell — The  Emperors  of 
Europe  Combine  for  Conquest  of  America — The 
Duke  of  Wellington  Proves  a  Tartar — England 
Makes  a  Proposition — Thomas  Jefferson  Proposes 
to  Marry  the  British  Fleet— The  Solid  Front  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon — James  Monroe  Throws  Down  a  Chal- 
lenge to  Royalty — Ambitions  Sunk  in  the  Waters  of 
Trafalgar. 

EARLY  in  August,  1823,  George  Can- 
ning, Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  of 
Great  Britain,  sent  for  Richard  Rush, 
a  representative  of  the  United  States,  and  in- 
formed him  that  the  Holy  Alliance,  in  the 
greatest  secrecy,  had  determined  to  subjugate 
the  Central  and  South  American  communities 

that  had  recently  revolted  from  Spain. 

117 


118        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

This  was  a  startling  revelation. 

To  the  American  mind  it  would  carry  ter- 
rible consequences  in  its  train.  It  meant  the 
political  control  of  America  in  the  hands  of  the 
kings  of  Europe.  It  meant  the  forcible  and 
final  introduction  of  the  monarchical  system  of 
government  on  this  continent.  It  represented 
a  death  blow  throughout  the  world  to  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  right  of  revolution  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  "will  of  the  governed."  And 
not  least,  the  ultimate  prospect  that  "we 
should  have  to  fight  upon  our  own  shores  for 
our  own  institutions." 

In  order  to  realize  the  nature  of  the  catas- 
trophe thus  suddenly  presented  to  our  minis- 
ter, it  is  necessary  to  examine  the  nature,  pur- 
pose, and  power  of  this  sanctimonious  league. 

It  consisted  primarily  of  their  majesties  the 
Emperor  of  Austria,  the  King  of  Prussia,  and 
the  Czar  of  Russia,  all  three  dominated  by  the 
"biggest  rascal  and  liar"  in  Christendom,  the 
celebrated  Prince  Metternich,  Minister  of  Aus- 
tria.    Every  little  while  this  "voting  trust"  of 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    119 

kings  would  meet  under  conditions  of  the  most 
rigid  secrecy  and  lay  down  the  law  to  the  world, 
make  compacts,  and  establish  principles,  of 
which  the  following  had  been  their  latest  and 
most  definite : 

"Article  I.  The  high  contracting  powers, 
being  convinced  that  the  system  of  representa- 
tive government  is  equally  as  incompatible  with 
the  monarchical  principles  as  the  maxim  of  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people  with  the  divine  right, 
engage  mutually,  in  the  most  solemn  manner, 
to  use  all  their  efforts  to  put  an  end  to  the  sys- 
tem of  representative  governments,  in  what- 
ever country  it  may  exist  in  Europe,  and  to 
prevent  its  being  introduced  in  those  countries 
where  it  is  not  yet  known." 

Every  first-class  power  in  Europe,  except 
Turkey,  was  a  party  to  this  formidable  combi- 
nation. It  was  a  close  corporation  for  the 
running  of  Christendom. 

Several  slight  impediments  had  developed  in 
the  proceedings.  One  was  that  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  the  foremost  soldier  in  the  world. 


120        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

had  got  up  and  left  the  meeting  in  Verona. 
The  other  was  that  George  Canning  had  writ- 
ten a  most  unsympathetic  note  to  this  effect: 

"We  disclaim  for  ourselves  and  deny  for 
other  powers  the  right  of  requiring  any  changes 
in  the  internal  institutions  of  independent 
states,  with  the  menace  of  hostile  attack  in 
case  of  refusal." 

Aside  from  these  slight  annoyances  the  Holy 
Alliance  had  so  far  been  a  grand  success.  It 
had  stamped  out  a  revolution  and  the  strug- 
gling liberal  government  in  Spain  with  the 
utmost  rigour  and  dispatch.  It  had  broken 
with  vigour  and  cruelty  the  spirit  of  Itahans 
rising  against  intolerable  tyranny. 

Its  deeds  and  its  overwhelming  power  spoke 
to  America  in  tones  even  more  menacing  than 
its  treaties.  And  now  the  American  Minister 
was  informed  that  it  proposed  to  take  domin- 
ion over  South  America,  on  behalf  of  the  King 
of  Spain. 

This  called  for  immediate  and  drastic  de- 
fence of  some  sort. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    121 

As  a  nation  we  have  long  since  forgotten  the 
part  played  in  this  crisis  by  Great  Britain. 

Canning  disclosed  the  danger.  And  Rush 
reported  that  he  went  on  to  say:  "Events 
are  hourly  assuming  new  importance  and 
urgency,  under  aspects  to  which  neither  of  our 
governments  can  be  insensible."  *  *  *  'He 
had  the  strongest  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
co-operation  of  the  United  States  with  Eng- 
land, through  my  (Rush's)  instrumentality, 
afforded  with  promptitude,  would  ward  off  al- 
together the  meditated  jurisdiction  of  the  Eu- 
ropean powers  over  the  new  world.' 

Rush,  with  the  independence  and  self-assur- 
ance that  have  been  characteristic  of  American 
diplomats,  undertook  to  put  forth  the  joint 
challenge  to  the  world  on  the  spot.  If  he  had, 
it  would  have  joined  the  forces  of  these  two 
great  countries  in  the  fight  for  liberal  govern- 
ment in  a  formal  as  well  as  merely  inevitable 
manner.  But  he  refused  to  do  so  on  his  own 
responsibility,  because  Canning  at  the  same 
time  would  not  agree  immediately  to  recognize 


122        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

the  independence  of  all  the  revolted  Spanish 
provinces. 

So  the  information  was  dispatched  with  all 
speed  to  the  Department  of  State.  And  with 
it  Canning's  formal  proposal  that  England 
and  the  United  States  jointly  announce  in  the 
**face  of  the  world"  that: 

"We  conceive  the  recoveries  of  the  Colonies 
by  Spain  to  be  hopeless.  *  *  *  We  aim  not  at 
the  possession  of  any  portion  of  them  our- 
selves. We  could  not  see  any  portion  of  them 
transferred  to  any  other  power  with  indiffer- 
ence." 

This  meant,  of  course,  that  such  an  action 
would  be  the  signal  for  bloody  war. 

When  James  Monroe,  President  of  the 
United  States,  received  these  dispatches  he 
ceased  to  be  interested  in  anything  else.  Ob- 
viously the  action  to  be  taken  would  have  a 
paramount  influence  upon  the  future  of  the 
world.  So  he  wrote  to  consult  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, Nestor  of  America,  in  his  retreat  at  Mon- 
ticello,  saying: 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    123 

**I  transmit  to  you  two  dispatches  which 
were  received  from  Mr.  Rush  which  involve 
interests  of  the  highest  importance.  They  con- 
tain two  letters  from  Mr.  Canning  suggesting 
designs  of  the  Holy  Alliance  against  the  in- 
dependence of  South  America,  and  proposing 
a  co-operation  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  in  support  of  it  against  the 
members  of  that  alliance.  *  *  *  Has  not  the 
epoch  arrived  when  Great  Britain  must  take 
her  stand  either  on  the  side  of  the  monarchs  of 
Europe  or  of  the  United  States,  and  in  conse- 
quence either  in  favour  of  despotism  or  of  lib- 
erty? *  *  *  My  own  impression  is  that  we 
ought  to  meet  the  proposal  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment." 

Jefferson's  reply  is  peculiarly  interesting  in 
the  light  of  recent  events : 

"The  question  presented  by  the  letters  you 
have  sent  me  is  the  most  momentous  which  has 
ever  been  offered  to  my  contemplation  since 
that  of  independence.  That  made  us  a  nation ; 
this  sets  our  compass  and  points  the  course 


124        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

which  we  are  to  steer  through  the  ocean  of  time 
opening  on  us.  *  *  *  America,  North  and 
South,  has  a  set  of  interests  distinct  from  those 
of  Europe.  She  should  therefore  have  a  sys- 
tem of  her  own,  separate  and  apart  from  that 
of  Europe.  While  the  last  is  labouring  to  be- 
come the  domicile  of  despotism,  our  endeavour 
should  surely  be  to  make  our  hemisphere  that 
of  freedom. 

"One  nation,  most  of  all,  could  disturb  us  in 
this  pursuit;  she  now  offers  to  lead,  aid,  and 
accompany  us  in  it.  By  acceding  to  her  prop- 
osition, we  detach  her  from  the  bands,  bring 
her  mighty  weight  into  the  scale  of  free  gov- 
ernment, and  emancipate  a  continent  at  one 
stroke,  which  might  otherwise  linger  long  in 
doubt  and  difficulty.  Great  Britain  is  the  one 
nation  which  can  do  us  the  most  harm  of  any 
one,  on  all  the  earth ;  and  with  her  on  our  side 
we  need  not  fear  the  whole  world.  With  her, 
then,  we  should  most  sedulously  cherish  a  cor- 
dial friendship  and  nothing  would  tend  more 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    125 

to  knit  our  affections  than  to  be  fighting  once 
more,  side  by  side,  in  the  same  cause." 

As  I  write  this,  nearly  a  hundred  years  later, 
the  daily  paper  before  me  announces  in  great 
headlines  the  wild  enthusiasm  greeting  the  ar- 
rival of  the  first  American  troops  in  London. 
They  are  there  to  fight  once  more,  side  by  side, 
in  the  same  cause.  The  same  old  cause,  against 
despotism.  They  are  now  keeping  faith  with 
George  Canning,  who  "emancipated  a  conti- 
nent at  one  stroke."  Curiously  enough,  the 
old  Revolutionary  patriot  seems  even  to  have 
foreseen  the  scream  of  the  doubter  who  in  sim- 
ilar circumstances  cries  out  against  fighting  for 
England.  He  goes  on  to  say,  recently  quoted 
by  the  Independent,  and  as  true  to-day  as 
when  it  was  written: 

"The  war  in  which  the  present  proposition 
might  engage  us,  should  that  be  its  conse- 
quence, is  not  her  war,  but  ours.  Its  object  is 
to  introduce  and  establish  the  American  sys- 
tem of  keeping  out  of  our  land  all  foreign  pow- 


126        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

ers — of  never  permitting  those  of  Europe  to 
intermeddle  with  the  affairs  of  our  nations. 
It  is  to  maintain  our  own  principles,  not  to  de- 
part from  it.  *  *  *  With  Great  Britain  with- 
drawn from  their  scale  and  shifted  into  that  of 
our  two  continents,  all  Europe  combined  would 
not  undertake  such  a  war,  for  how  would  they 
propose  to  get  at  either  enemy  without  su- 
perior fleet?" 

The  result  of  this  statement,  enforced  by 
practically  identical  advice  from  Madison,  and 
co-operation  of  that  far-sighted  and  rugged 
American,  John  Quincy  Adams,  was  the  state 
paper  most  vital  in  the  life  of  our  country. 
This  was  the  message  sent  by  the  President  to 
Congress,  Dec.  2, 1823.  It  embraces  the  set  of 
principles  known  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine, 
They  constitute  the  basis  of  a  major  part  of 
our  national  policy  and  diplomacy.  This  mes- 
sage says: 

"The  occasion  has  been  judged  proper  for 
asserting  as  a  principle  in  which  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  United  States  are  involved. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    127 

that  the  American  continents,  by  the  free  and 
independent  condition  which  they  have  as- 
sumed and  maintain,  are  henceforth  not  to  be 
considered  as  subject  for  future  colonization 
by  any  European  power.  *  *  *  We  owe 
it,  therefore,  to  candour,  and  to  the  amicable 
relations  existing  between  the  United  States 
and  those  powers,  to  declare  that  we  should 
consider  any  attempt  on  their  part  to  extend 
their  system  to  any  portion  of  this  hemisphere 
as  dangerous  to  our  peace  and  safety.  *  *  *  " 

This  was  a  world  challenge  of  supreme  im- 
pertinence and  great  daring.  Not  only  can't 
you  have  any  land,  but  we  won't  stand  a  min- 
ute for  the  holy  system  cultivated  with  so  much 
care  by  the  Alliance.  In  other  words,  one 
half  of  the  world  is  free. 

I  am  aware  that  nothing  could  seem  more 
trite  and  banal  than  reading  a  moral  on  as  an- 
cient a  matter  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  Still 
nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  its  true  sig- 
nificance, as  well  as  its  origin  and  its  mainte- 
nance, is  unknown  to  the  American  public  to- 


128        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

day.  And  to  a  great  body  of  our  chosen  rep- 
resentatives in  Congress  assembled  these  things 
are  as  strange  as  the  Koran. 

If  the  foregoing  plain  statement  of  the  dip- 
lomatic correspondence,  the  opinion  of  the  pro- 
mulgators, and  the  immediate  historical  causes 
of  Monroe's  famous  message  have  any  mean- 
ing whatever,  it  is  this:  That  practically  the 
whole  world  intended  to  attack  this  continent; 
that  for  lack  of  a  navy  we  could  not  possibly 
have  prevented  it;  that  a  common  ideal  and 
sense  of  justice  led  the  English  to  bring  their 
peerless  fleet  to  our  defence.  And  subsequent 
history  shows  that  they  have  ever  since  kept 
that  fleet  at  our  disposal  for  this  same  purpose. 
And  it  is  now  quite  plain  to  even  the  sceptical 
Solon  that,  although  they  have  lacked  naval 
force  for  major  hostilities  in  America,  the 
forces  of  despotism,  thwarted  by  Canning  and 
ilonroe,  have  ever  since  been  gaining  instead 
of  losing  the  will  and  power  to  strike. 

The  final  and  arch  enemy  of  these  forces  is 
the  United  States.    We  are  the  cradle  and  cas- 


m. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    129 

tie  of  all  those  liberal  ideas  which  eat  into  their 
pretensions,  and  which  this  country  and  Eng- 
land alone  championed  in  1823. 

"It  was  impossible  for  the  continental  Eu- 
ropean powers  to  think  of  oversea  military 
action  in  the  face  of  the  British  and  American 
fleets.  Such  hopes  were  sunk  in  the  waters  of 
Trafalgar  beyond  the  possibility  of  resurrec- 
tion." 


CHAPTER  NINE 

PUBLICITY  vs.  DUPLICITY.    THE 
INTRIGUES  OF  AN  EMPEROR 

A  Mysterious  Stranger  Appears  at  the  Paris  Con- 
sulate with  Proof  of  an  Imperial  Plot — The  Iron- 
clad Rams  of  Napoleon  III — The  Death  Knell  of 
the  Fleet  and  the  Threatened  Bombardment  of  New 
York — The  Intrigues  of  an  Emperor — The  Fallacy 
of  Neutrality — The  Diplomatic  Methods  of  John 
Bigelow — A  Cunning  Ruse — The  Planted  Dispatch 
' — The  Collapse  of  the  Conspiracy. 

IT  was  during  the  Civil  War.  John 
Bigelow,  consul-general  of  the  United 
States,  was  transacting  business  in  the 
consulate  in  Paris,  France.  It  was  Sept.  10, 
1863.  Entered  David  Fuller,  messenger. 
He  presented  the  card  of  a  stranger.  The 
stranger  demanded  an  immediate  audience, 
and  that  it  be  personal  and  private.  Years 
afterward   the    distinguished    journalist    and 

130 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS         131 

diplomat  described  this  interesting  interview 
as  follows: 

"Permission  granted,  a  man  of  middle  age 
presently  entered,  and  after  closing  the  door 
carefully  behind  him  proceeded  to  say  that  he 
had  a  communication  to  make  of  considerable 
importance  to  my  government.  He  was  a 
Frenchman  of  the  Gascon  type,  small  of  sta- 
ture, with  glittering  black  eyes,  and  thick, 
coarse,  jet-black  hair,  which  had  appropriated 
to  itself  most  of  his  forehead;  he  was  sober  and 
deliberate  of  speech,  as  if  he  had  been  trained  to 
measure  his  words  and  was  accustomed  to  be 
held  responsible  for  what  he  said.  I  was  not 
prepossessed  by  his  appearance,  perhaps  be- 
cause of  my  rather  extensive  experience  of 
people  continually  presenting  themselves  at 
the  consulate  in  quest  of  a  market  for  their 
suspicions,  rumours,  and  imaginings,  and  who 
usually  introduced  themselves,  like  the  person 
before  me,  as  bearers  of  information  of  vital 
importance. 

"I  asked  him  to  be  seated,  and  waited  for 


132        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

him  to  proceed.  He  asked  if  I  was  aware  that 
the  Confederates  were  building  war  vessels  in 
France.  *  *  *  He  proceeded  to  state  as  facts 
within  his  own  knowledge  that  there  were  then 
building  in  the  ports  of  Bordeaux  and  Nantes, 
for  account  of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America,  several  vessels,  some  of  which  were 
armour  plated  and  with  rams,  which  altogether 
were  to  cost  from  twelve  to  fifteen  millions  of 
francs;  that  the  engines  for  some  of  them 
were  built  and  ready  to  put  in,  and  that  for  the 
armament  of  these  vessels  artillery  and  shells 
had  also  been  ordered.  I  here  remarked  that 
no  vessel  of  war  could  be  built  in  France  with- 
out the  authorization  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment. He  replied  that  the  official  authoriza- 
tion for  the  construction,  equipment,  and  arm- 
ing of  these  vessels  had  already  been  issued 
from  the  Department  of  the  Marine.  I  asked 
him  if  he  meant  seriously  to  affirm  that  the  ves- 
sels he  spoke  of  were  building  under  an  official 
authorization  of  the  Government.  He  reaf- 
firmed his  statement,  and  added  further  that  he 


IX  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    133 

was  prepared  to  prove  it  to  my  entire  satisfac- 
tion. 

"I  tried  not  to  betray  my  sense  of  the  su- 
preme importance  of  this  communication,  which 
was  too  circumstantial  and  precise  to  be  wholly 
imaginary,  if  possibly  exaggerated.  *  *  * 

"I  said  to  my  visitor:  *0f  course  what  you 
state  is  of  grave  importance  to  my  govern- 
ment if  it  can  be  substantiated,  but  of  none  at 
all  without  proofs  which  cannot  be  disputed  or 
explained  away.' 

"  'Of  course  not,'  he  replied. 

"  *What  kind  of  proofs  can  you  furnish?'  I 
asked. 

"  'Original  documents,'  he  said,  *and  what  is 
more,  I  will  engage  that  with  my  proofs  in 
hand,  you  can  effectually  secure  the  arrest  of 
the  ships.  *  *  *' 

"He  thereupon  produced  a  certified  copy  of 
the  government  authorization  and  some  half 
dozen  original  letters  and  papers,  showing,  be- 
yond a  doubt,  the  substantial  truth  of  his  state- 
ments. *  *  *  He  said  that  of  course  the  papers 


184        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

were  not  obtainable  without  some  expense  and 
much  trouble,  and  that  when  the  documents  he 
proposed  to  furnish  me  had  actually  defeated 
the  naval  operations  of  the  Confederates  in 
France,  he  would  expect  20,000  francs.  *  *  * 

"At  the  hours  agreed  upon  on  Saturday,  the 
12th,  Mr.  X  reappeared  with  his  supplemen- 
tary proofs.  These,  with  those  already  in  my 
possession,  were  conclusive ;  nothing  could  have 
been  more  conclusive." 

The  documents  were  letters  from  Arman,  a 
great  shipbuilder  at  Bordeaux,  a  member  of 
the  Legislature  and  a  powerful  partizan  of  the 
throne  and  imperialistic  party  in  France. 
One  was  to  M.  Voruz,  an  ironfounder  of 
Nantes,  acknowledging  receipt  of  moneys  on 
account  of  "two  ships  which  I  am  building  for 
account  of  the  Confederates."  Another  was 
to  the  Compte  P.  de  Chasseloup-Laubat, 
Minister  of  the  Marine  in  the  Imperial  Cabinet 
asking  authority  to  arm  four  ships  of  war 
building  in  Bordeaux  and  Nantes.  This  let- 
ter naively  stated  that  "Their  special  arma- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    135 

I  merit  contemplates  their  eventual  sale  to  the 
governments  of  China  and  Japan."  The  most 
alarming  of  the  lot  was  the  official  authoriza- 
tion signed  by  the  Minister  of  Marine  himself. 
This  information  was  staggering.  In  our 
security  of  to-day  it  is  impossible  to  conceive 
of  the  import  of  the  situation,  and  the  respon- 
sibility thus  thrown  in  a  few  words  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  consul.  It  seemed  possible 
that  the  fate  of  a  nation  was  in  his  hands.     It 

I  would  have  been  scarcely  more  urgent  if  he  had 
discovered  a  practical  and  imminent  plot  to 
blow  up  half  of  Grant's  army  in  the  moment 

^    of  attack. 

I        A  revolution  had  just  taken  place  in  the  art 

^  of  building  ships  of  war.  The  discovery  of 
the  ironclad  ram  had  rendered  the  navy  of  the 
United  States  as  obsolete  as  the  triremes  of 
Greece.  These  two  monsters  nearing  com- 
pletion in  the  ways  at  Bordeaux  were  more 
than  a  match  for  all  the  squadrons  of  Far- 
ragut.  They  were  expected  with  justifiable 
confidence  to  blast  the  Stars  and  Stripes  from 


136        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

the  sea,  to  lift  the  blockade  of  the  Southern 
ports,  and  to  bombard  the  Bowery  into  sub- 
mission and  tribute. 

In  them  lay  new  heart  and  life  for  the  starv- 
ing Confederacy.  They  meant  guns  and 
ammunition  for  Longstreet's  deadly  riflemen. 
They  meant  murderous  food  for  Pendle- 
ton's batteries,  shoes  and  blankets  for  a  desti- 
tute soldiery,  and  three-course  dinners  for  a 
gaunt  population.  Far  worse  than  this:  for 
they  carried  witk  them  the  panic  of  dangers 
strange  and  unfamiliar.  Their  successful  op- 
eration would  give  the  eager  Emperor  of 
France  the  encouragement  and  opportunity  he 
was  panting  for — to  recognize,  if  not  join,  the 
Confederacy. 

Verily,  circumstances  alter  cases.  In  1776 
a  rebellious  army  in  the  United  States  had 
sought  and  obtained  comfort  and  support  from 
a  Bourbon  prince,  in  defiance  of  all  rules  of 
neutrality.  And  John  Paul  Jones  in  French 
ports  had  acquired  the  swift  hulls  and  salt- 
petre which  struck  such  a  blow  at  the  pride  of 


L'^ 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    137 

the  Mistress  of  the  Seas.  This  is  extolled  in 
story  and  song.  But  all  authority  is  unani- 
mous in  horror  and  indignation  at  the  depreda- 
tions of  that  pirate  ship,  the  Alabama,  which 
swept  our  own  flag  from  the  ocean ;  it  execrates 
the  memory  of  the  Napoleonic  despot  who 
harboured  the  "spy"  Sliddel,  and  plotted  the 
independence  of  Richmond  under  a  neutral 
cloak. 

Although  there  remains  no  sane  American 
who  does  not  devoutly  thank  heaven  for  the 
success  of  the  Union  and  the  end  of  the  with- 
ering system  of  slavery,  there  are  many  to 
whom  it  is  not  at  all  self  evident  that  a  sym- 
pathy and  agreement  with  the  cause  of  Robert 
E.  Lee  and  Stonewall  Jackson  in  1862  is  con- 
clusive proof  of  total  depravity.  So  in  writ- 
ing this  chronicle  of  the  masterful  manoeuvre 
by  which  a  champion  of  the  Federal  cause  con- 
tributed so  much  to  the  saving  of  the  Union 
and  discouraging  its  secret  enemies  abroad, 
there  will  be  no  pretence  of  thereby  attempting 
to  brand  or  catalogue  the  friends  and  enemies 


138        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

of  America.  At  that  time  there  were  two 
Americas.  And  it  was  not  so  very  obvious  to 
the  uninformed  spectator  in  London  and  Paris 
which  was  the  oppressed  and  which  the  op- 
pressor. 

No  such  doubt  exists  concerning  the  Em- 
peror of  France.  Napoleon  III  exhibited  all 
the  traits  that  had  made  the  very  name  of  em- 
peror a  just  cause  of  suspicion  in  the  Republic, 
and  has  now  finally  goaded  a  patient  world  into 
a  war  of  final  riddance.  At  the  outset  it  is 
only  fair  to  say  that  the  people  of  France  had 
no  voice  in,  part  or  sympathy  with,  the  im- 
perialistic schemes  of  conquest  and  diplomatic 
duplicity  that  characterized  the  actions  of  their 
ruler. 

The  moment  the  struggle  broke  out  on  the 
Potomac  he  saw  his  chance  to  put  in  practice 
the  one  infallible  principle  of  princes — to 
conquer  somebody. 

Under  the  familiar  guise  of  collecting  just 
debts  he  invited  a  number  of  powers  to  make  a 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    139 

joint  expedition  to  Mexico.  When  he  got 
firmly  established  there,  he  threw  off  the  mask 
and  proposed  to  stay.  He  put  a  satellite  po- 
tentate of  Austrian  persuasion  on  the  new 
throne.  His  partners  in  the  enterprise,  being 
honest  in  their  purposes,  withdrew.  But  there 
he  remained.  The  army  of  Northern  Virginia 
and  Jubal  Early's  cavalry  rendered  impossible 
the  defence  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  by  Wash- 
ington. 

In  their  dire  extremity  the  Confederates 
promised  Mexico  to  Napoleon  if  they  were  suc- 
cessful. This,  together  with  the  natural  de- 
sire of  a  would-be  absolute  monarch  to  destroy 
the  power  of  the  foremost  democracy  in  the 
world,  readily  persuaded  him  to  champion  the 
Southern  cause  in  Europe.  Together  with  the 
rest  of  the  world  he  had  issued  his  declaration 
of  neutrality  in  the  beginning  of  the  struggle. 

One  of  two  things  was  necessary  before  he 
dared  to  commit  himself  to  open  war  with  the 
United   States.     One  was  the  assistance  of 


140        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Great  Britain.  The  other  was  a  Confederate 
victory  giving  him  at  least  a  favourable  pre- 
diction of  a  final  victory. 

His  urgent  and  repeated  attempts  to  per- 
suade the  English  to  interfere,  or  at  least 
recognize  the  Government  of  Richmond,  had 
failed.  They  had  failed  in  spite  of  the  nobility, 
Mr.  Gladstone,  and  the  Prime  Minister,  whose 
natural  sympathies  were  with  the  Southern  half 
of  the  country  and  the  courtly  genius  which  had 
hitherto  predominated  in  American  affairs; 
and  also  in  spite  of  the  high  protective  tariff 
just  passed  by  the  Union,  causing  great  loss  to 
British  industry. 

He  had  failed  because  England  was  ruled  by 
its  people.  These  people  had  an  inherent  re- 
pugnance to  the  institution  of  slavery  which  no 
cabinet  dared  face;  and  strange  to  relate,  the 
Queen  of  England  would  not  hear  of  it. 
Queen  Victoria  probably  had  as  broad  a  vision 
and  as  deep  an  understanding  of  the  future  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  strain  as  any  person  then 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    141 

living.  At  all  events,  she  is  reported  to  have 
flatly  stated  to  her  minister : 

"My  Lord,  you  must  understand  that  I  shall 
sign  no  paper  which  means  war  with  the  United 
States." 

Consequently  our  anxious  diplomats  in  their 
outposts  of  the  drama  at  Paris  believed  that  the 
crisis  had  been  averted,  when  the  sudden  entry 
of  this  Gascon  informer  from  the  offices  of  the 
ship-builder  Arman  disclosed  a  plot  of  the  first 
magnitude  hatching  under  their  noses. 

One  thing  was  certain.  The  American  con- 
sul had  to  stop  these  ships  from  sailing,  no  mat- 
ter who  was  behind  them,  and  no  matter  how 
he  did  it.  Little  things  like  this,  hardly  known 
by  the  public  and  ignored  by  those  who  see  in 
a  diplomat  only  a  favoured  plum-gatherer  with 
a  tinsel  hat  and  a  fancy  tea  room,  are  fre- 
quently put  up  to  our  representatives  abroad. 

If  this  revelation  exposed  merely  a  Con- 
federate plot,  and  a  shipyard  working  under 
cover  of  the  false  pretences  that  its  vessels  were 


142        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

for  the  Pacific  trade,  the  problem  was  easy. 
With  proofs  now  in  his  hands  Bigelow  could 
convince  the  authorities  of  the  real  designs  of 
the  enterprise,  and  they  would  be  stopped  at 
once.  For  this  sort  of  thing  was  the  gravest 
breach  not  only  of  the  accepted  laws  governing 
neutrality,  but  of  the  repeated  assurances  and 
promises  of  the  Emperor  himself.  A  glance  at 
his  exhibits  convinced  the  consul  that  Napoleon 
"was  hovering  over  us — like  the  buzzards — in 
Gerome's  famous  picture,  over  the  exhausted 
camel  in  the  desert — only  deferring  his  descent 
until  we  should  be  too  feeble  to  defend  our- 
selves." In  other  words  Napoleon  III  was 
himself  a  party  to  the  construction  of  these 
leviathans  destined  to  destroy  a  friendly 
country. 

The  first  move  was  conventional.  Com- 
plete copies  of  the  papers  were  placed  in  the 
hands  of  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  the  French 
Minister  of  Foreign  Aflfairs.  These  were  ac- 
companied by  remonstrances,  and  insistent  de- 
mands that  the  vessels  be  seized.     The  worthy 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    14a 

minister,  who  was  not  in  his  master's  confi- 
dence, was  shocked  and  astonished.  *  He  prom- 
ised to  take  up  the  matter  at  once  with  the 
Minister  of  Marine.  And  after  so  long  a  time 
the  Minister  of  Marine,  who  seemed  to  con- 
sider it  altogether  incredible  that  these  ships 
should  have  anything  to  do  with  the  Confed- 
eracy, promised  to  take  it  up  with  His  Maj- 
esty. His  Majesty  was  away  on  a  fishing 
trip.  Furious  notes  and  thinly  disguised 
threats  heated  the  mails  from  Washington. 
The  accepted  channels  of  diplomacy  were 
clogged  with  the  debris  of  negotiations. 

But  meanwhile  day  and  night  the  work  on 
the  ironclads  proceeded  furiously.  It  became 
evident  that  the  crafty  Emperor  was  going  to 
win  in  the  slow  race  and  manage  to  be  con- 
vinced just  about  fifteen  minutes  after  the 
rams  had  safely  cleared  the  harbour. 

No  hero  was  on  hand  so  desperate  and  cap- 
able as  to  blow  them  up  single-handed.  And 
there  were  no  boats  afloat  in  America  that 
could  keep  these  dragons  of  the  deep  in  har- 


144        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

bour  once  they  were  ready  to  sail.  There  re- 
mained but  one  power  to  restrain  them.  The 
sense  of  justice.  Not  the  Emperor's,  for  he 
had  none.  Not  that  of  his  ministers,  for  he 
controlled  them.  But  the  sense  of  justice  of 
the  people  of  France. 

When  a  consul  starts  to  go  behind  the  gov- 
ernment to  which  he  is  accredited  and  appeals 
in  the  name  of  a  foreign  power  to  the  citizens 
of  a  country,  he  takes  his  reputation  in  his 
hands,  and  starts  upon  the  forbidden  paths 
that  usually  lead  to  disgrace  and  recall.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  can  only  be  done  under  two 
circumstances.  One  is  under  cover,  where  the 
envoy  supplies  the  ammunition  and  a  native 
does  the  talking — as  when  Bunau-Varilla  en- 
gineered the  defeat  of  the  Nicaraguan  route 
in  the  canal  debate  in  Congress — or  when  the 
people  are  to  be  told  something  they  wish  to 
hear,  and  agree  with  in  advance.  Otherwise 
the  fate  of  Dumba  and  citizen  Genet  lies  in 
wait. 

Bigelow  used  both  methods.     If  there  exists 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    145 

one  characteristic  distinctly  and  pre-eminently 
French  it  is  the  honour  of  country,  what  might 
be  called  a  national  chivalry.  The  glory  and 
the  good  name  of  their  native  land  is  an  exalted 
mania  with  all  Frenchmen.  Let  them  know 
the  facts,  and  not  even  the  Emperor  would  dare 
further  to  countenance  actions  that  would  re- 
flect upon  the  good  name  of  France.  This 
was  Bigelow's  opinion.  And  as  a  last  chance 
it  was  to  this  end  that  he  turned  all  his  en- 
ergy. 

He  went  to  the  leader  of  the  French  bar — a 
man  grown  old  in  the  service  of  his  country, 
the  soul  of  integrity,  whose  probity  as  well  as 
consummate  legal  acumen  had  placed  him  in 
the  foremost  rank  of  his  times.  He  was  also 
a  member  of  the  Corps  Legislatif,  a  powerful 
factor  in  the  opposition.  The  case  was  put 
frankly  before  him. 

Whatever  his  opinions  with  regard  to  the 
American  struggle,  the  Frenchman  was  in- 
dignant and  astonished  that  France  should  be 
made  to  play  this  underhand  role.     He  agreed 


146        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

to  write  a  powerful  denunciation  of  it  to  be 
signed  by  himself.  This  was  placed  in  Bige- 
low's  hands  to  be  given  to  the  press.  But  here 
a  second  obstacle  was  presented.  An  editor  of 
liberal  notions  and  national  enthusiasm  was 
readily  found  who  gladly  promised  to  print  it. 
But  in  monarchies  all  grist  that  goes  to  the 
mill  is  not  ground.  The  Minister  of  Interior 
got  wind  of  the  affair,  and  dispatched  a  per- 
emptory order  that  the  article  be  suppressed. 

Publicity,  not  its  form  of  presentation,  was 
the  gist  of  this  silent  battle.  And  it  is  well 
known  that  some  things  can  be  made  more 
startling  by  concealment  than  by  display. 
Bigelow  did  not  hesitate  to  start  the  report 
which  soon  spread  over  Paris  that  an  opinion  of 
international  moment,  written  by  the  great  au- 
thority Antoine  Pierre  Berryer,  had  been  sup- 
pressed. 

The  eager  and  pressing  curiosity  and  grow- 
ing conmient  carried  the  first  rampart.  Ar- 
man  was  ordered  to  cover  his  tracks  by  a  sale 
of  the  vessels  to  Sweden,  for  account  of  Den- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    147 

mark — with  the  assurance  that  only  one  would 
be  delivered  to  the  Danes.  The  other,  once  out 
of  harbour,  and  the  Americans  lulled,  would 
be  transferred  to  the  original  destination. 

So  great  was  the  popular  support  gathering 
behind  this  rumour  that,  some  weeks  before 
the  ships  were  ready,  M.  Guerault,  Editor  of 
the  Opinion  Nationale  determined  to  throw 
down  the  gage  to  the  royal  power  and  pub- 
lished a  ringing  article,  "Les  Corsaires  du 
Sud"  in  which  the  government  was  openly 
charged  with  a  conspiracy  with  Arman  "against 
the  very  existence  of  a  friendly  power." 

These,  the  weapons  of  information  and 
truth,  are  not  so  dramatic  or  so  entertaining  as 
the  intricate  mtrigues  of  Metternich  and  the 
bold  and  bloody  paths  of  daggers  and  lies  by 
which  Richelieu  gained  his  ends.  But  to-day 
the  world  is  beginning  to  realize  that  they  are 
by  far  the  most  powerful  of  all  diplomatic 
weapons.  In  this  case  they  insured  the  hasty 
retreat  of  the  regal  master  from  his  equivocal 
position.    They  lined  up  the  forces  of  public 


148        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

opinion  across  the  mouth  of  the  harbour  of 
Bordeaux. 

But  they  could  not  change  the  heart  or  real 
purpose  of  the  Emperor  any  more  than  they 
now  change  those  of  the  Hohenzollern.  These 
men  must  be  fought  as  one  fights  fire,  with 
their  own  weapons.  If  blood  and  iron  be  the 
weapons  they  choose,  very  well,  let  it  be  blood 
and  iron.  If  it  be  deception,  very  well,  cheat 
the  cheat.  So  concluding,  Bigelow  put  on  the 
finishing  touch.  He  brought  the  Emperor  to 
his  own  way  of  thinking  by  methods  undoubt- 
edly to  the  Emperor's  fancy — ^had  he  recog- 
nized them. 

He  sat  down  and  wrote  a  fairy  story  to  the 
American  consul  at  Marseilles.  He  told  him 
in  confidence  how  speculators  in  the  United 
States  were  building  some  dreadful  warships, 
verj^  like  the  Alabama — indeed,  nicely  calcu- 
lated to  ruin  the  commerce  of  any  nation  in 
manner  even  worse  than  this  scourge  of  the 
sea.  And  that  they  were  to  sail  into  the  gulf 
of    Mexico    as    privateers    under    letters    of 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    149 

marque  from  Benito  Juarez,  the  Mexican 
president,  whom  Napoleon  had  recently- 
hounded  into  the  mountains.  And  that  un- 
doubtedly they  would  be  ruinous  to  French 
commerce  and  schemes  in  those  latitudes. 

This,  all  in  a  letter,  in  the  nature  of  confiden- 
tial information,  he  dispatched  by  courier.  He 
took  very  good  care  that  it  never  reached  its 
destination.  The  consul  at  Marseilles  was  not 
the  person  he  wished  to  delude.  Providen- 
tially it  was  stolen  on  the  road  and  found  its 
way  at  once  into  a  newspaper. 

The  happy  conclusion  is  soon  told.  John- 
son, the  historian  says : 

"In  all  this  there  was  no  truth  whatever,  but 
the  Emperor  supposed  it  all  to  be  true,  and  he 
made  haste  to  stop  the  sailing  of  the  Confed- 
erate ships,  and  to  assure  Bigelow  of  his  friend- 
ship for  the  United  States." 


CHAPTEE  TEN 

THE  "TRENT"  AFFAIR 

Righting  An  Old  Wrong — Introducing  an  Ultima- 
tum, Including  the  Story  of  a  Hold-Up  at  Sea — Two 
Ambassadors  Captured  and  Imprisoned  in  Fort  War- 
ren, Boston — A  Lesson  in  International  Law  Proves 
an  Example  of  International  Joke — A  National 
Celebration — A  National  Indignation — A  National 
Retraction.  Abraham  Lincoln's  Way — Anecdotes 
vs.  the  Rattling  Sabre — ^A  Conference  of  State — 
Salmon  P.  Chase  States  a  Principle. 

I  AM  now  about  to  exhibit  an  example  of 
that  interesting  document,  an  ultimatum. 
It  is  the  only  thoroughly  business-like  ulti- 
matum we  ever  received.  I  have  to  confess 
that  to  the  uninitiated  it  will  prove  a  great  dis- 
appointment. That  is,  if  they  expect  as  I  did, 
to  find  an  ultimatum  bristling  with  threats  and 
fascinating  thunder-bolts  of  defiance,  in  Hec- 
tor's vein.  It  was  presented  with  great  polite- 
ness, as  if  it  had  been  a  bunch  of  jonquils,  by 

150 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS         151 

Lord  Lyons,  British  Ambassador  in  Washing- 
ton, to  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of 
State,  in  the  cabinet  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  It 
read  more  or  less  like  a  story  book,  and  was 
embodied  in  instructions  the  ambassador  re- 
ceived from  home,  which  he  was  to  give  the 
Secretary.     This  is  the  way  it  went : 

Foreign  Office,  Nov.  30,  1861. 
My  Lord: 

"Intelligence  of  a  very  grave  nature  has 
reached  Her  Majesty's  Government. 

"This  intelligence  was  conveyed  officially  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  admiralty  by  Commander 
Williams,  agent  for  mails  on  board  the  con- 
tract steamer  Trent, 

"It  appeared  from  the  letter  of  Commander 
Williams,  dated  'Royal  Mail  Contract  Packet 
Trent,  at  sea,  November,  9,'  that  the  Trent  left 
Havana  on  the  7th  instant,  with  Her  Majesty's 
mails  for  England,  having  on  board  numerous 
passengers.  Commander  Williams  states  that 
shortly  after  noon,  on  the  8th,  a  steamer  having 
the  appearance  of  a  man  of  war,  but  not  show- 


152        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

ing  colours,  was  observed  ahead.  On  nearing 
her,  at  1 :15  P.  M.,  she  fired  a  round  shot  from 
her  pivot-gun  across  the  bows  of  the  Trent  and 
showed  American  colours.  While  the  Trent 
was  approaching  her  slowly,  the  American  ves- 
sel discharged  a  shell  across  the  bows  of  the 
Trent  exploding  half  a  cable's  length  ahead  of 
her.  The  Trent  then  stopped,  and  an  officer 
with  a  large  armed  guard  of  marines  boarded 
her.  The  officer  demanded  a  list  of  pas- 
sengers, and,  compliance  with  this  demand  be- 
ing refused,  the  officer  said  he  had  orders 
to  arrest  Messrs.  Mason,  Slidell,  McFarland, 
and  Eustis,  and  that  he  had  sure  information 
of  their  being  passengers  in  the  Trent,  While 
some  parley  was  going  on  upon  this  matter, 
Mr.  Shdell  stepped  forward  and  told  the 
American  officer  that  the  four  persons  he  had 
named  were  then  standing  before  him.  The 
commander  of  the  Trent  and  Commander  Wil- 
liams protested  against  the  act  of  taking  by 
force  out  of  the  Trent  these  four  passengers, 
then  under  the  protection  of  the  British  flag. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    153 

But  the  San  Jacinto  was  at  that  time  only  two 
hundred  yards  from  the  Trent,  her  ship's  com- 
pany at  quarters,  her  ports  open  and  tompions 
out.  Resistance  was  therefore  out  of  the  ques- 
tion and  the  four  gentlemen  before  named 
were  forcibly  taken  out  of  the  ship.  A  further 
demand  was  made  that  the  commander  of  the 
Trent  should  proceed  on  board  the  San  Jacinto, 
but  he  said  he  would  not  go  unless  forcibly  com- 
pelled likewise,  and  this  demand  was  not  in- 
sisted upon. 

"It  thus  appears  that  certain  individuals 
have  been  forcibly  taken  from  on  board  a  Brit- 
ish vessel,  the  ship  of  a  neutral  power,  while 
such  vessel  was  pursuing  a  lawful  and  innocent 
voyage — an  act  of  violence  which  was  an  af- 
front to  the  British  flag  and  a  violation  of  in- 
ternational law. 

"Her  Majesty's  Government,  bearing  in 
mind  the  friendly  relations  which  have  long 
existed  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  are  willing  to  believe  that  the  United 
States  naval  ofBcer  who  committed  the  aggres- 


154        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

sion  was  not  acting  in  compliance  with  any  au- 
thority from  his  government,  or  that  if  he  con- 
ceived himself  to  be  so  authorized  he  greatly 
misunderstood  the  instructions  he  had  received. 
For  the  government  of  the  United  States  must 
be  fully  aware  that  the  British  Government 
could  not  allow  such  an  affront  to  the  national 
honour  to  pass  without  full  reparation,  and 
Her  Majesty's  government  is  unwilling  to  be- 
lieve that  it  could  be  the  deliberate  intention  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States  unneces- 
sarily to  force  into  discussion  between  the  two 
governments  a  question  of  so  grave  a  character, 
and  with  regard  to  which  the  whole  British 
nation  would  be  sure  to  entertain  such  unanim- 
ity of  feeling. 

"Her  Majesty's  Government,  therefore, 
trusts  that  when  this  matter  shall  have  been 
brought  under  the  consideration  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  that  government 
will,  of  its  own  accord,  offer  to  the  British  Gov- 
ernment such  redress  as  alone  could  satisfy  the 
British  nation,  namely,  the  liberation  of  the 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    155 

four  gentlemen  and  their  delivery  to  your 
Lordship,  in  order  that  they  may  again  be 
placed  under  British  protection,  and  a  suitable 
apology  for  the  aggression  which  has  been  com- 
mitted. 

"Should  these  terms  not  be  offered  by  Mr. 
Seward,  you  will  propose  them  to  him. 

"You  are  at  liberty  to  read  this  dispatch  to 
the  Secretary  of  State,  and,  if  he  shall  desire 
it,  you  will  give  him  a  copy  of  it. 

"I  am,  etc.,  "Russell." 

With  this  went  the  fuse  to  set  the  charge. 

"Should  Mr.  Seward  ask  for  delay  in  order 
that  this  grave  and  painful  matter  should  be 
deliberately  considered,  you  will  consent  to  a 
delay  not  exceeding  seven  days.  If  at  the  end 
of  that  time,  no  answer  is  given,  or  if  any  other 
answer  is  given  except  that  of  a  compliance 
with  the  demands  of  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment, your  Lordship  is  instructed  to  leave 
Washington  with  all  the  members  of  your  lega- 
tion and  repair  immediately  to  London." 


156        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

This  document  was  a  poser,  and  gave  the 
Secretary  of  State  about  as  lively  and  as  ex- 
acting a  seven  days  as  he  ever  had.  Diplom- 
acy became  an  active  and  important  function 
in  the  City  of  Washington. 

In  so  far  as  this  country  or  any  other  is  gov- 
erned in  its  quarrels  and  conflicts  by  interna- 
tional law  the  problem  was  a  very  easy  one. 
The  joke  was  on  Great  Britain.  It  was  simply 
splendid.  For  here  was  Lord  Palmerston  in 
the  most  concise  and  unequivocal  manner  stak- 
ing everything  he  had  and  the  seven  seas  upon 
the  proposition  that  to  stop  a  neutral  boat  and 
take  off  a  passenger  was  an  outrage  and  a 
scandal.  Now  that  was  just  exactly  what  this 
country  had  contended  for  a  century  more  or 
less,  and  it  was  this  very  kind  of  action  that 
had  called  forth  the  resentment  of  the  Frigate 
Constitution  in  the  days  of  1812.  Provided 
my  Lord's  facts,  so  clearly  put,  were  true,  and 
provided  we  wished  to  follow  the  law  in  all  its 
holy  inviolability,  all  we  had  to  do  was  politely 
acquiesce,  and  congratulate  the  Queen  upon 


J 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    157 

having  finally  arrived  at  a  proper  conception 
of  the  rules  of  the  sea. 

The  facts  were  true — ^to  a  letter.  And  the 
law  as  I  stated.  It  was  as  clear  as  noonday, 
as  contended  for  in  America,  that  nobody  but 
soldiers  of  a  belligerent  power  could  be  re- 
moved from  under  a  neutral  flag.  Maybe, 
then,  you  will  conclude  that  was  all  there  was 
about  it.  That  was  not  even  the  beginning. 
For  my  Lord  overlooked  a  few  trifling  facts. 
He  was  quite  right  in  doing  so.  They  were 
what  the  lawyers  call  irrelevant  to  the  interna- 
tional issue,  and  he  was  not  writing  a  romance. 
But  in  human  afl'airs,  American  as  well  as 
others,  the  law  has  less  to  do  with  conduct  than 
the  lawyers  or  the  professors  would  have  us 
believe.  And  irrelevant  testimony  is  quite 
often  that  which  controls  not  only  the  jury,  but 
the  judge. 

Mr.  Seward's  problem  was  intensified  by 
the  identity  of  these  same  four  passengers. 
Mr.  James  Murray  Mason  was  a  gentleman  of 
credit  and  renown.     He  had  shortly  before 


158        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

been  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Affairs  in  the  United  States  Senate,  and  was 
the  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  famous  states- 
men in  Virginia  since  before  the  Revolution. 
Mr.  Slidell  had  also  recently  been  a  senator, 
and  was  known  to  be  a  gentleman  of  great 
polish  and  address,  forensic  skill  and  diploma- 
tic acumen.  These  two  masters  of  the  arts  of 
the  politician,  if  not  of  the  statesmen,  were 
versed  to  the  minute  in  the  affairs  of  the  world 
and  the  accepted  methods  of  procedure,  and 
would  make  a  very  telling  team  sent  out  from 
some  country  on  a  deep  diplomatic  errand. 
So  Jefferson  Davis,  President  of  the  Confed- 
erate States  believed,  and  William  H.  Seward 
agreed  with  him. 

When  the  news  reached  New  York  and  Bos- 
ton that  these  two  depraved  and  dangerous 
'"traitors"  representing  a  wicked  rebellion  had 
actually  left  Charleston  on  the  Nashville  as 
"ambassadors"  bent  upon  making  alliance  for 
their  government  with  Great  Britain  and 
France,  and  to  get  warships  and  cannon  and 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    159 

heaven  knows  what  instruments  of  the  devil, 
the  people  were  furious.  When  they  learned 
that  the  Nashville  was  only  a  blind,  and  that 
the  perfidious  wretches  had  sneaked  by  the 
blockade  in  the  Theodora,  while  the  fleet  chased 
the  other  boat,  they  were  drunk  with  indigna- 
tion. It  seemed  as  if  they  could  part  with  their 
inheritance  if  only  they  could  get  hold  of  these 
arch  rebels. 

Meanwhile,  another  style  of  man  came  into 
the  game.  Captain  Charles  Wilkes,  in  com- 
mand of  the  first-class  screw  sloop  San  Jacinto, 
of  fifteen  guns,  was  animated  by  no  motives 
whatever.  Through  a  long  career  he  had  up- 
held the  highest  traditions  of  the  United  States 
Navy.  Action  was  his  long  suit.  The  case 
was  still  to  be  recorded  where  the  American 
Navy  has  not  struck  on  the  spot  if  it  had  half 
an  excuse.  Well,  he  came  cruising  into  Ha- 
vana from  the  west  coast  of  Africa  about  this 
time,  on  his  way  home  from  hunting  slave  trad- 
ers. At  Havana,  his  second  officer  ran  into 
his  old  acquaintance.  Mason,  in  the   Hotel 


160        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Cubana.  And  every  bell  boy  was  full  of  the 
entertaining  story  of  how  the  Confederates 
had  fooled  the  Yankees,  and  were  now  about 
to  sail  under  the  certain  protection  of  the  Eng- 
lish flag.  No  secret  was  made  of  itr  Every- 
body was  to  see  them  off  on  the  Trent  bound 
for  Bermuda. 

Captain  Wilkes  made  up  his  mind.  Lieu- 
tenant Fairfax  suggested  some  doubts. 
Doubts  constituted  no  argument  against  a  life- 
time of  decision.  When  the  British  packet 
sailed  into  the  Bahama  Channel  she  found  Cap- 
tain Wilkes  waiting  for  her,  and  her  distin- 
guished guests  were  provided  with  other  quar- 
ters in  short  order,  flag  or  no  flag.  • 

When  this  news  reached  Broadway,  Back 
Bay  and  points  north  and  west,  there  was 
the  greatest  demonstration  ever  seen.  The 
hated  prisoners  were  led  to  a  secure  resting 
place,  while  bells  rang,  and  orators  spoke,  and 
the  Captain  was  wined  and  dined  and  thanked 
by  Congress  and  forty  Chambers  of  Commerce. 
The  Revere  House  in  Boston  was  the  scene 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    161 

of  a  tremendous  welcome,  and  the  papers  burst 
forth  into  pasans  of  thanksgiving.  The  mirac- 
ulous had  happened.  The  arch  rebels  were 
caught.  The  right  had  been  vindicated  and 
everybody  was  happy. 

Not  only  that,  but  the  national  legislature  in 
all-but-unanimous  vote  declared  the  capture 
a  splendid  achievement.  In  the  heat  of  a  civil 
war  the  great  legal  lights  of  the  country,  men 
like  William  Evarts  and  Senator  Hale,  main- 
tained with  vehemence  that  it  was  not  only 
justifiable  but  that  any  other  course  would 
have  been  degrading.  And  every  editorial 
writer  with  hardly  an  exception  swore  that  he 
would  die  in  abject  poverty  fighting  all  Europe 
before  he  would  give  up  the  scoundrels. 

To  this  solid  body  of  popular  opinion  and 
enthusiasm  were  added  the  cold,  calculating 
and  deliberately  treasonable  propaganda  and 
efforts  of  Vallandigham  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, who  worked  on  the  public  passion 
with  all  his  might,  in  the  hope  of  bringing  on 
war,  and  so  helping  the  Confederates.     Very 


162         DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

much  as  certain  of  his  kind  are  now  working 
to  damage  the  United  States  in  war  from  that 
same  body. 

The  demand  of  Lord  Lyons  and  the  ancient 
American  doctrine  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
people  flushed  with  triumph,  a  new  hero  and 
the  human  booty  on  the  other — this  was  the 
problem  of  seven  days  for  Seward. 

The  records  of  the  time,  including  the  public 
press,  the  thunder  of  Congress,  the  innumera- 
ble speeches  before  assemblies,  and  the  diaries 
and  biographies  of  the  many  historic  figures 
on  the  stage  reveal  only  one  man  quite  calm 
and  placid  through  it  all.  He  sat  in  the  White 
House,  and  outraged  decency  by  relating  an- 
ecdotes which  he  considered  apropos  of  the 
situation.  When  told  in  tragic  tones  that 
there  would  surely  be  war  between  England 
and  the  United  States  his  reply  was  a  parable: 

"My  father  had  a  neighbour  from  whom  he 
was  separated  by  a  fence.  On  each  side  of 
that  fence  there  were  two  savage  dogs,  who 
kept  running  backward  and  forward  along  the 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    163 

barrier  all  day,  barking  and  snapping  at  each 
other.  One  day  they  came  to  a  large  opening 
recently  made  in  the  fence.  Perhaps  you 
think  they  took  advantage  of  this  to  devour 
each  other.  Not  at  all;  scarcely  had  they  seen 
the  gap,  when  they  both  ran  back,  each  with  his 
tail  between  his  legs."  ^ 

The  cabinet  met  to  discuss  the  affair  on 
Christmas  day,  five  days  after  Lord  Lyons  had 
made  his  demand.  This  left  two  days  to  go, 
with  the  British  guns  before  and  the  warlike 
mob  behind.  And,  not  an  unusual  occurrence, 
the  President  was  the  only  man  present  who 
had  expressed  no  violent  sentiments,  and  so 
had  none  to  withdraw. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  spite  of  the  hot  blood 
and  the  natural  resentment,  there  was  never 
really  any  doubt  of  the  outcome  of  this  meet- 
ing. It  has  been  assumed  by  rampant  parti- 
sans of  the  Union  disguised  as  historians  that 
Seward  finally  yielded  in  this  matter  with 
creditable  bad  grace  in  the  face  of  a  dire  nec- 
essity, chargeable  to  the  tyrannical  government 


164.        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

of  perfidious  Albion.  This  explanation  is  not 
borne  out  either  by  the  known  character  of  the 
Americans,  who  have  never  been  known  to  re- 
fuse a  fight  because  the  odds  were  against  them, 
nor  by  the  accounts  of  the  cabinet  meeting 
which  are  extant.  Stripped  of  the  high  feel- 
ings of  the  moment,  the  temper  of  the  people 
and  the  political  dangers  at  home  attendant 
upon  a  yielding  decision,  the  case  was  plain 
enough.  And  it  appears  that  from  the  first 
Abraham  Lincoln  had  perceived  this.  And  it 
is  not  the  least  of  the  many  great  decisions  to 
his  credit.  He  decided  to  yield  because  the 
English  were  right.  Not  because  they  were 
strong.  And  because  the  United  States  was 
wrong,  and  not  because  she  was  weak. 

The  prevailing  view  in  the  cabinet  after  the 
discussion  was  expressed  by  Secretary  Salmon 
P.  Chase.  He  sacrificed  his  feelings  to  his 
sense  of  justice.  Here  is  the  way  he  expressed 
it: 

"It  is  gall  and  wormwood  to  me.    Rather 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    165 

than  consent  to  the  liberation  of  these  men  I 
would  sacrifice  everything  I  possess.  But 
I  am  consoled  by  the  reflection  that,  while 
nothing  but  severest  retribution  is  due  to  them, 
the  surrender,  under  existing  circumstances,  is 
but  simply  doing  right — simply  proving  faith- 
ful to  our  own  ideas  and  traditions  under 
strong  temptation  to  violate  them — simply  giv- 
ing to  England  and  the  world  the  most  signal 
proof  that  the  American  nation  will  not,  under 
any  circumstances,  for  the  sake  of  inflicting 
just  punishment  on  rebels,  commit  even  a 
technical  wrong  against  neutrals." 

This  position  was  courageous  and  manly. 
And  if  Seward  had  seen  the  point  he  could 
probably  have  turned  the  occasion  into  the  in- 
ternational joke  of  the  century.  Perhaps  he 
did  see  it,  but  feared  the  political  effect  at  home 
qf  a  simple,  straightforward  admission  of  error. 
At  all  events,  his  answer  was  a  book  full  of 
bad  English  precedents  instead  of  good  Amer- 
ican law,  and  long-winded  arguments  of  a  na- 


166        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

ture  to  assuage  the  feelings  of  his  constituents. 
It  contained  just  one  sentence  of  any  conse* 
quence : 

"The  four  persons  in  question  are  now  held 
in  military  custody,  at  Fort  Warren,  in  the 
State  of  Massachusetts.  They  will  be  cheer- 
fully liberated.  Your  Lordship  will  please  to 
indicate  a  time  and  place  for  receiving  them." 

The  incident  was  closed.  The  only  perma- 
nent effect  upon  international  relations  was  the 
inevitable  end  of  the  doctrine  of  "visit  and 
search."  The  only  flaw  in  the  proceedings 
from  the  American  point  of  view  was  our  fail- 
ure to  point  this  out  with  vigour  and  good  hu- 
mour. 


CHAPTER  ELEVEN 

COACHING  CHINA 

The  Everlasting  Problem  of  the  "Inferior  Race." 
Conflict  of  "Manifest  Destiny"  and  the  "Square 
Deal."  A  Crisis  in  the  Orient.  The  "Powers"  Rig 
an  Action  Against  the  Celestial  Kingdom,  Backing 
the  Advance  of  the  Caucasian  Drummer.  Anson 
Burlingame,  Back  Bay  Politician,  Takes  the  Case  of 
China.  The  Fate  of  a  Continent  in  His  Hands — ^An 
Ambassador  to  All  the  World.  His  Treaty  with 
Seward.  A  Convention  with  Lord  Clarendon.  The 
Triumphant  Diplomatic  Conquest  of  Two  Emperors 
and  the  Iron  Chancellor. 

FROM  Berlin  to  Bagdad,  from  Cairo  to 
Cape  Town,  from  Samarkand  to  Bom- 
bay, the  whole  planet  has  witnessed 
the  assimilation,  benevolent  and  otherwise,  of 
every  inferior,  that  is  to  say  weaker  people, 
under  the  sun,  excepting  only  the  monumental 
Chinese. 

Searching  back  among  the  intricate  and  de- 

167 


168        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

vious  national  jealousies  and  heroic  figures  of 
a  century  of  diplomacy  in  the  Orient  for  the 
cause  of  this  phenomenon,  we  come  upon  a 
strange  spectacle;  two  Americans,  one  in  com- 
mand of  the  Chinese  Army,  and  the  other,  am- 
bassador from  China  to  the  entire  world.  One 
holding  the  long-haired  rebels  at  bay  in  the 
mysterious  recesses  of  the  kingdom;  the  other 
keeping  the  Christian  kings  from  * 'taking 
China  by  the  throat."  The  understanding  of 
the  indignation  mentioned  above  involves  the 
record  of  the  second  of  these  old  adventurers, 
the  ambassador.  But  I  cannot  forbear  to  give 
a  little  contemporaneous  picture  of  his  com- 
panion piece,  the  barest  recital  of  the  incidents 
of  whose  career  are  sufBcient  to  give  him  fore- 
most rank  among  the  soldiers  of  fortune  that 
have  heralded  the  coming  of  the  diplomat  in 
every  frontier  known  to  the  Anglo-Saxon. 

This  was  General  Frederick  T.  Ward,  or- 
ganizer of  the  first  Chinese  troops  trained  and 
disciplined  under  modern  methods — known  to 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    169 

history  as  the  "Ever-victorious  Army,"  after- 
ward in  command  of  "Chinese"  Gordon.  The 
old  account  says:  "He  is  instructing  the  Chi- 
nese in  the  use  of  European  weapons,  and  has 
about  two  thousand  of  them  trained,  whom  he 
has  led  in  a  most  desperate  manner,  success- 
fully, in  several  recent  battles.  *  *  *  He  was 
born  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  went  to  sea 
when  a  boy,  became  mate  of  a  ship,  and  then 
was  a  Texas  ranger,  California  gold  miner,  in- 
structor in  the  Mexican  service,  was  with 
Walker — for  which  he  was  outlawed  by  his 
government —at  the  Crimea,  and  then  joined 
the  Chinese,  among  whom  he  has  gradually 
risen  to  influence  and  power.  He  is  now  their 
best  officer.  *  *  *  " 

But  what  saved  China  was  not  an  officer. 
Hannibal  himself  would  have  thrown  up  the 
job  of  defending  this  world  of  Chinese  ac- 
customed to  go  to  war  with  an  armour-bearer 
before  and  a  parasol  ^alet  behind.  The  most 
potent  single  factor  in  a  long  and  complex 


170        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

drama,  was  their  first  and  greatest  diplomat — 
Anson  Burlingame,  late  orator  of  Faneuil 
Hall,  Boston,  State  of  Massachusetts. 

A  narrative  of  this  unique  envoy,  sent  from 
the  Past  to  negotiate  with  the  Future,  is  not 
out  of  place  in  the  chronicle  of  American  dip- 
lomatic exploits,  for  he  was  also  minister  from 
the  United  States  to  China,  and  the  founder  of 
the  American  policy  of  "Hands  Off"  and  a 
square  deal.  He  was  one  of  the  few  men  in 
history  trusted  to  the  extent  of  representing 
both  sides  of  an  international  discussion  at  one 
and  the  same  time — a  particularly  trying  posi- 
tion, considering  that  neither  side  had  the 
slightest  idea  what  the  other  was  talking  about, 
and  from  their  cradles  were  fundamentally  in- 
capable of  finding  out. 

This  Back  Bay  politician  possessed  precisely 
no  diplomatic  training  whatever.  His  original 
appointment  was  in  large  measure  due  to  the 
answer  he  gave  to  Preston  Brooks,  after  the 
South  Carolinian  had  beaten  the  Senator  from 
Massachusetts  with  a  cane  in  full  view  of  the 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    171' 

nation.  This  answer  delighted  the  world.  It 
suggested  rifles  at  short  range  on  Deer  Island 
by  Niagara  Falls.  His  equipment  was  of  a 
kind  that  a  lifetime  spent  in  the  libraries  of  the 
world  and  all  the  courts  in  creation  would  never 
supply.  It  consisted  mainly  of  three  things, 
given  him  by  his  fathers :  a  sense  of  chivalry, 
that  is,  the  sympathy  and  simple  courage  which 
champions  the  weak;  hard  practical  common 
sense  that  neither  the  mysticism  of  the  East 
nor  the  pompous  and  regal  ceremony  and  ar- 
rogance of  the  West  could  befuddle  or  betray; 
a  personal  charm  of  character  and  manners  of 
whose  failure  in  courtesy  there  is  no  record. 

He  received  his  appointment  as  Minister  to 
China  in  1861,  and  set  out  across  the  world  in 
much  the  same  frame  of  mind  as  one  might  now 
start  for  Saturn.  He  was  not  trammeled  with 
"arbitrary  instructions"  for  the  very  good  rea- 
son that  Secretary  Seward,  man  of  imagination 
though  he  was,  could  not  imagine  what  to  in- 
struct him.  At  that  time  the  prevailing  diplo- 
matic procedure  in  the  East  was  conducted  by 


172        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

gunboats  and  the  war  then  just  started  at  Fort 
Sumter  rendered  it  inadvisable  for  Seward  to 
spare  any  such  at  the  moment. 

So  this  Yankee  landed  in  the  ancient  king- 
dom of  the  inscrutable  Manchus  from  aboard  a 
packet,  as  innocent  of  the  feuds  and  imponder- 
abilities of  Chinese  politics  as  he  was  of  the  con- 
flicting and  sordid  ambitions  of  the  Caucasian 
drummers  already  arrived  to  exploit  them. 

He  found  what  Gilbert  calls  a  pretty  howdy- 
do — a  government  as  old  and  immovable  as 
the  desert,  with  not  even  the  faintest  germ 
of  a  desire  for  "progress."  Locomotives,  me- 
chanical toys,  telegrams,  thrashing  machines, 
bath-tubs,  and  all  modern  improvements  were 
to  them  eyesores  and  abominations.  The 
worst  of  it  was  that  as  a  plain  matter  of  fact 
this  government  suited  them  exactly.  It  filled 
every  want  and  withstood  revolution  and  dis- 
order in  a  manner  to  create  the  wildest  envy  in 
every  cabinet  in  Christendom. 

To  becloud  the  picture  one  of  these  revolu- 
tions was  then  at  high  tide.    This  was  being 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    173 

conducted  by  the  Taipings,  whose  professions 
of  Christianity  did  not  prevent  a  consistent 
practice  of  massacre,  loot,  and  pillage.  In  an- 
other quarter  the  country  was  being  sacked  in 
the  name  of  Mohammed,  while  the  professed 
bandits  in  a  third  tried  in  vain  to  keep  up  their 
reputation. 

A  punitive  expedition  had  shortly  before  es- 
tablished the  European  embassies  in  Pekin, 
intrenching  another  menace  to  the  celestial 
kingdom  ten  times  more  formidable  than  all  the 
Moslems  and  bandits  in  existence.  These  were 
the  peaceful  heralds  of  coming  light — ^the 
merchants  and  traders  of  England  and  France. 
They  camped  in  the  "Treaty  Ports"  and  were 
the  self-appointed  interpreters  of  China  to  a 
curious  world,  and  the  advisors  to  their  most 
Christian  majesties. 

Any  man  at  all  versed  in  the  affairs  of  the 
East  will  bear  testimony  that  the  great  mass  of 
these  traders,  speculators  and  financial  adven- 
turers— both  those  with  simply  selfish  motives 
and  reputable  and  honourable  business  men — 


174        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

have  no  more  real  knowledge  or  appreciation 
of  the  Chinese  than  has  the  total  stranger. 
They  know  their  trade  and  resources,  but 
not  one  Chinese  intimately,  and  the  history, 
philosophy,  deep  convictions,  and  proud  dig- 
nity of  the  Chinese,  are  matters  of  indiffer- 
ence to  them.  At  that  time  those  were  con- 
sidered hardly  more  than  an  insult,  interfer- 
ing as  they  did  with  the  divine  right  of  busi- 
ness, and  the  advance  of  profits.  This  ele- 
ment made  the  loudest  claims  upon  diplomacy 
and  created  the  world  problem,  not  yet  solved, 
which  Anson  Burlingame  was  called  upon  to 
meet. 

This  European  advance  guard  was  undoubt- 
edly composed  of  men  of  a  strong  strain  and 
daring  dispositions,  risking  much  in  a  new  field 
to  gain  much.  There  was  nothing  wicked 
about  them.  They  held  a  philosophy  still 
prevalent  in  commercial  circles — a  philosophy 
which  has  goaded  every  foreign  office  for  a 
hundred  years,  and  only  reached  its  logical  con- 
clusion in  the  efficiency  and  f rightfulness  on  the 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    175 

fields  of  Flanders.  The  civilized  world  has  the 
problem  presented  by  it  still  to  face.  Roughly 
the  point  of  view  was  this : 

A  superior  nation  has  the  right,  if  not  the 
duty,  of  compelling  an  inferior  nation  to  adopt 
such  ideas  of  government,  justice,  and  customs 
as  it  may  decree,  and  to  open  its  territories  to 
the  use,  and  its  resources  to  the  benefit  of 
the  superior  nation.  Particularly  the  latter. 
The  creed  is  that  "manifest  destiny"  makes 
such  physical  and  political  domination  inevi- 
table in  the  interests  of  civilization,  and  "prog- 
ress." Without  exception,  the  demand  is  that 
this  shall  be  accompUshed  in  short  order  by 
force  of  arms,  so  that  a  heaven-sent  ^'culture" 
may  uplift  the  benighted  area.  In  other 
words,  the  trader  from  a  "civilized"  state  may 
proceed  to  a  "heathen"  state  and  sell  his  goods 
or  conduct  his  enterprise  in  any  way  he  sees 
fit,  and  has  the  right  to  demand  military  and 
diplomatic  support  for  his  decision. 

Perhaps  such  action  is  inevitable,  like  the 
tides,  and  beyond  the  control  of  men's  minds, 


176        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

however  enlightened.  My  purpose  is  to  show 
that  when  confronted  with  this  problem  Anson 
Burlingame  undertook  to  decide  it;  and,  as  far 
as  the  United  States  and  China  were  con- 
cerned, he  succeeded  in  the  manner  I  shall  now 
relate. 

From  the  day  of  his  arrival  he  took  the 
unique  and  bizarre  attitude  that  the  Chinese 
were  real  people,  to  be  treated  with  courtesy 
and  consideration.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  he 
was  the  representative  of  a  foreign  nation  with 
"interests"  to  conserve  or  acquire  he  held  the 
idea  that  the  country  belonged  absolutely  and 
entirely  to  the  Chinese,  and  that  it  was  their 
business  as  well  as  their  privilege  to  conduct  it. 
It  took  him  about  a  week  to  discover  the  trav- 
esty in  the  Taiping's  Christianity,  and  he  en- 
couraged the  training  and  dispatch  of  Ward's 
forces  to  put  them  down.  Upon  reaching 
Pekin  he  sought  out  the  other  ministers,  and 
became  shortly  the  leading  spirit  in  a  diplomat 
quartette  called  by  Frederick  Wells  Williams 
the  "Four  B's"— Count  Balluzech,  the  Rus- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    177 

I 
sian;  M.  Bertheiny,  the  French  Minister;  Sir 

Frederick    Bruce,    and    Anson   Burlingame. 

Thrown  together  constantly  in  informal  and 

intimate  association,  together  they  formulated 

that  which  was  the  forerunner  of  the  famous 

"Open  Door"  policy  of  John  Hay.    As  stated 

in  his  dispatch  to  Washington  it  was  as  follows : 

"The  policy  upon  which  we  agreed  is  briefly 
this :  that  while  we  claim  our  treaty  right  to  buy 
and  sell  and  live  in  the  treaty  ports,  subject  in 
respect  to  rights  of  property  and  persons  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  our  own  governments,  we 
will  not  ask  for,  nor  take  concessions  of,  terri- 
tory in  the  treaty  ports  or  in  any  way  interfere 
with  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment over  its  own  people,  or  ever  menace  the 
territorial  integrity  of  the  Chinese  Empire. 
That  we  will  not  take  part  in  the  internal  strug- 
gles in  China  beyond  what  is  necessary  to  main- 
tain our  treaty  rights.     *     *    * 

"By  the  favoured-nation  clause  in  the  treat- 
ies, no  nation  can  gain,  by  any  sharp  act  of 
diplomacy,  any  privilege  not  secured  to  all. 


I 


178        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

The  circumstances  conspire  to  make  this  a  for- 
tunate moment  in  which  to  inaugurate  the  co- 
operative pohcy.  *  *  *  Our  only  hope  is 
in  forbearance  and  perfect  union  among  our- 
selves ;  if  these  are  maintained,  and  our  govern- 
ments sustain  us  in  the  policy  we  have  adopted, 
I  cannot  but  be  hopeful  of  the  future,  and  feel 
that  a  great  step  has  been  taken  in  the  right 
direction  in  China." 

He  pursued  this  understanding  with  his  col- 
leagues with  such  good  faith  that  the  Chinese 
came  to  regard  him  as  a  real  friend.  The  in- 
fluence of  this  representative  who  had  not  one 
bluejacket  or  doughboy  behind  him  became  a 
prime  influence  in  the  country.  Shortly  after 
his  arrival  the  French  consul  at  Ning-po  began 
the  nagging  and  the  grabbing  again.  He 
wanted  another  concession.  Concessions  giv- 
ing European  jurisdiction  was  the  panacea  uni- 
versally recommended  by  the  traders  and,  of 
course,  universally  resisted  by  the  Mandarins. 
Burlingame  urged  the  Chinese  to  put  up  a 
stiff  front  and  had  a  heart-to-heart  talk  with 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    179 

the  French  consul  upon  which  the  effort  was 
abandoned. 

He  successfully  mediated  in  a  dispute  be- 
tween the  Pekin  Government  and  a  British 
concern  that  arrived  in  China  with  a  squadron 
of  warships  which  it  proposed  the  Chinese 
should  take,  English  crews  and  all.  The  re- 
sult, again  a  triumph  of  fair  play,  was  that  the 
Lay-Osborne  Flotilla  sailed  back  to  England. 

A  more  important  consequence  to  the  United 
States  was  the  subsequent  action  obtained 
from  the  grateful  Chinese  forbidding  the  Con- 
federate raider  Alabama  even  to  approach 
the  ports  of  the  Empire.  This  was  more 
of  a  concession  than  any  of  our  famous  am- 
bassadors could  get  from  any  coimtry  in  Eu- 
rope. Not  the  least  of  his  services  to  China 
was  his  influence  in  leading  the  Prince  to  solicit 
the  services  of  the  eminent  American  engineer, 
Raphael  Pumpelly,  to  make  the  first  examina- 
tion of  their  mineral  resources. 

It  was  all  very  well  for  the  ministers  in 
Pekin  to  agree  upon  this  mild  procedure,  but 


180        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

the  tide  of  commerce  and  the  demands  of  busi^ 
ness  were  driving  from  the  other  direction. 
Firm  in  the  belief  that  a  "strong  and  vigorous 
policy,"  continual  "pressure/'  and  a  coercion 
based  upon  the  unanswerable  arguments  of 
naval  batteries  were  the  only  methods  to  handle 
a  "foreign,  corrupt,  semi-barbarous  and  usurp- 
ing government,"  they  were  rapidly  driving 
that  government  to  its  wits'  end.  The  expira- 
tion of  some  of  their  trade  conventions  threat- 
ened the  distracted  ministers  with  unknown 
disasters.  For  even  if  they  were  willing  to  ac- 
cept uplift  and  progress,  the  people  were  not. 
They  would  resist  with  all  the  fury  begotten  of 
an  inherent  reverence  for  and  devotion  to  their 
ancient  traditions,  customs,  and  "supersti- 
tions." If  the  Dowager  Empress  decided  to 
resist,  she  knew  very  well  she  would  be  over- 
whelmed. If  she  did  not,  her  throne  would  not 
be  worth  a  yen.  The  people  would  not  stand 
by  her. 

The  prospect  was  that  demands  would  be 
made  for  the  exemption  of  foreign  goods  from 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    181 

inland  and  local  taxes,  the  introduction  of  rail- 
roads and  telegraph  lines,  the  privileges  of 
opening  mines,  and  the  establishment  of  inter- 
national courts  for  collecting  from  debtor  Chi- 
nese. This  was  a  fearful  prospect  to  the  re- 
gents. What  might  come  by  time  was  one 
thing,  but  these  demands  at  the  mouth  of  a 
cannon  amounted  to  ruination. 

Here  we  get  some  conception  both  of  the 
Chinese  character  and  of  Burlingame.  Only- 
one  way  out  occurred  to  them.  It  was  almost 
as  revolutionary  and  undignified  as  the  tele- 
graph. That  was  to  send  an  embassy  to  these 
heathen  countries  in  Europe  to  see  what  it  was 
all  about,  if  any  one  could  find  out,  and  to  per- 
suade them  to  be  reasonable,  if  perchance  such 
a  miracle  was  possible. 

They  had  made  a  kind  of  tentative  experi- 
mental effort  of  this  sort  once  before.  They 
had  not  established  embassies  to  be  sure,  but 
still  had  taken  a  very  radical  and  doubtful 
step.  They  had  actually  sent  Mr.  Pin  Chun 
on  a  scouting  expedition  to  see  what  those 


182        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

countries  were  like.  What  Mr.  Pin  Chun  re- 
ported is  not  obtainable,  but  it  hardly  covered 
the  exigencies  of  the  occasion  as  an  English 
account  of  his  visit  may  explain.     It  says: 

**He  was  received  like  the  Queen  of  Sheba  by 
King  Solomon  and  shown — at  least  in  Great  Britain 
— everything  that  was  admirable  from  the  West- 
em  point  of  view.  He  was  as  far,  however, 
from  appreciating  the  trimnphs  of  science  as  was 
Cetewayo  the  Zulu,  whose  admiration  of  England 
focussed  itself  on  the  elephant  Jumbo  at  the  Zoolog- 
ical Gardens." 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  affect  to  patronize 
these  people.  A  greater  mistake  could  not  be 
made.  Keener,  more  capable,  statesman  than 
some  of  those  consulted  on  this  occasion  could 
not  be  found  from  the  time  of  Solomon  to  that 
of  Jumbo.  Li  Hung  Chang's  report  on  the 
subject  is  on  record,  and,  if  they  had  seen  it, 
would  probably  have  caused  the  utmost  aston- 
ishment to  the  self-satisfied  critics  of  the  "semi- 
barbarians." 

The  consequence  of  the  decision  reached  by 
Prince  Kung  and  his  advisorg  was  radical  and 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    183 

it  was  conclusive  evidence  of  a  penetrating 
judgment  both  of  character  and  of  events. 
They  appointed  Anson  Burlingame  ambassa- 
dor to  all  the  Treaty  Powers  without  excep- 
tion and  returned  him  to  Seward  with  even 
more  extensive  powers  than  those  with  which 
he  came.  The  confidence  placed  in  this 
Yankee's  gDod  will,  ability,  and  understanding 
apparently  had  no  limit.  "Go  forth,"  they 
said;  "we  place  the  fate  of  China  in  your 
hands." 

Burlingame  received  this  proposition  in 
amazement,  of  course,  but  he  accepted  it  at  its 
face  value.     He  wrote  Seward : 

"I  may  be  permitted  to  add  that  when  the 
oldest  nation  in  the  world,  containing  one-third 
of  the  human  race,  seeks,  for  the  first  time,  to 
come  into  relations  with  the  West  and  requests 
the  youngest  nation,  through  its  representa- 
tive,  to  act  as  the  medium  of  such  change,  the 
mission  is  not  one  to  be  slighted  or  rejected." 

Having  concluded  that  Burlingame  under- 
stood their  situation  and  could  be  trusted  to 


184        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

present  their  case,  the  Chinese  wasted  no 
words  on  ceremony.  There  is  an  appealing 
dignity  and  brevity  about  their  announcement 
of  the  mission. 

"The  envoy  Anson  Burlingame  manages  af- 
fairs in  a  friendly  and  peaceful  manner,  and 
is  fully  acquainted  with  the  general  relations 
between  this  and  other  countries ;  let  him,  there- 
fore, now  be  sent  to  all  the  Treaty  Powers  as 
the  high  minister,  empowered  to  attend  to 
every  question  arising  between  China  and 
those  countries.     This  from  the  Emperor." 

Resigning  as  minister  from  the  United 
States  and  assuming  the  extraordinary  role  as 
Chinese  ambassador  to  all  creation,  the  Yankee 
set  out  to  Tientsin  in  a  cart.  He  was  accom- 
panied on  the  expedition  by  a  suite  of  thirty 
persons.  Two  of  those  were  secretaries — J, 
McLeavy  Brown,  Chinese  secretary  of  the 
British  Legation,  and  M.  Deschamps,  a 
Frenchman  in  high  esteem  in  Pekin.  Two 
others  were  members  of  the  Chinese  400,  sent 
as  official  "learners"  for  to  see  and  to  admire. 


'I 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    185 

It  soon  became  evident  that  the  Empress  had 
played  a  strong  hand.  Not  only  had  she 
turned  against  the  West  one  of  its  own  most 
powerful  orators,  and  one  whose  ringing  de- 
mands for  fair  play  in  the  King's  English  could 
not  be  avoided,  but  she  had  staged  a  blazing  ad- 
vertisement of  her  kingdom  and  its  proposi- 
tion. As  a  publicity  campaign  it  eclipsed 
everything  known  to  date,  and  made  Barnum 
look  like  an  amateur. 

To  give  the  proper  dramatic  and  Homeric 
touch  to  the  picture  the  party  was  set  upon  by 
highwaymen  on  the  way  to  the  coast.  The 
ubiquitous  British  gunboat  having  saved  the 
situation,  all  hands  and  an  exhibit  of  curiosities 
embarked  for  California  and  the  great  adven- 
ture. 

At  sight  of  the  Golden  Gate  and  the  familiar 
shores  of  home  it  is  said  that  Burlingame's 
heart  failed  him.  He  reflected  upon  the  shift- 
ing sands  and  the  masquerade  fury  of  Ameri- 
can politics,  known  of  old,  and  began  to  dread 
the  possible  indignation  and  brick-bats  of  a  con- 


186        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

stituency  lashed  from  the  stump  to  hector  the 
"American  Chinaman"  and  the  "Pigtail  here- 
tic." 

True  enough,  a  howling  mob  jammed  the 
docks,  but  not  in  anger.  With  pure  delight 
they  crowded  to  herald  the  big  show.  An  ova- 
tion equal  to  the  triumphant  return  of  a  victo- 
rious Csesar  accompanied  him  across  the  con- 
tinent. His  Oriental  embassy  was  received  in 
great  state  by  President  Johnson,  and  Burlin- 
game  opened  the  big  guns  of  the  campaign. 

He  drew  a  picture  of  a  peaceful,  ancient  and 
honourable  kingdom,  of  a  civilization  already 
grown  old  while  the  Vandals  were  still  scouring 
Europe;  to  which  were  due  the  courtesy  and 
consideration  observed  by  all  gentle  people  to 
the  venerable,  and  in  a  thousand  different  keys 
reiterated  the  one  great  principle  he  had  de- 
termined to  establish — that  the  world  should 
cease  to  bully  and  coerce  the  Ancient  King- 
dom. 

The  immediate  political  effect  he  was  work- 
ing for  was  not  new  treaties.     It  was  a  moder- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    187 

ate  and  reasonable  interpretation  of  the  old 
ones.  The  existing  treaties  had  been  gained 
by  force  and  threats.  It  was  obvious  that  they 
would  be  executed  by  the  same  methods,  over 
the  dead  bodies  of  a  million  Chinese.  True  to 
his  trust  he  was  representing  China  but  his 
statesmanlike  conception  went  much  further 
than  that.  Even  from  the  selfish  point  of  view 
of  "National  Interest,"  the  one  maxim  of  di- 
plomacy of  the  era,  the  practice  of  encroaching 
upon  China  held  a  deadly  peril.  It  insured 
ultimate  friction  and  war  between  the  bood- 
lers.  The  "Harpie  Nations"  would  shortly 
and  surely  come  to  blows  over  the  booty — end- 
ing in  none  could  guess  what  wide  conflagra- 
tion. 

Of  course  this  argument  and  policy  produced 
a  storm  of  protest,  ridicule,  and  fight  from 
those  depending  upon  guns  to  expand  their 
business,  and  also  from  the  "Imperiahsts"  of 
all  nations.  Dreams  of  great  "spheres  of  in- 
fluence" in  the  East  filled  the  minds  of  con- 
tinental statesmen. 


188        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

The  battle  raged  about  Burlingame's  pres- 
entation of  the  case  at  a  banquet  given  him 
in  New  York,  presided  over  by  the  Governor. 

"You  have  given  a  broad  and  generous  wel- 
come," he  said,  "to  a  movement  made  in  the 
interests  of  all  mankind.  *  *  *  That 
East,  which  men  have  sought  since  the  days  of 
Alexander,  now  seeks  the  West.  China, 
emerging  from  the  mists  of  time,  but  yesterday 
suddenly  entered  your  Western  gates,  and  con- 
fronts you  by  its  representatives  here  to-night. 
*  *  *  She  comes  with  the  great  doctrine 
of  Confucius,  uttered  two  thousand  three  hun- 
dred years  ago :  *Do  not  unto  others  what  you 
would  not  have  others  do  unto  you.'  Will  you 
not  respond,  with  the  more  positive  doctrine  of 
Christianity :  *  We  will  do  unto  others  what  we 
would  have  others  do  unto  us'  ?  *  *  * 

"She  asks  you  to  forget  your  ancient  preju- 
dices, to  abandon  your  assumption  of  superior- 
ity, and  to  submit  your  questions  to  her,  as  she 
proposes  to  submit  hers  to  you — to  the  arbitra- 
ment of  reason.     She  wishes  no  war:  she  asks 


^i 


^M 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    189 

you    not   to    interfere    in    her    internal    af- 
fairs.    *     *     * 

"She  asks  you  that  you  will  respect  the 
neutrality  of  her  waters  and  the  integrity  of 
her  territory.  She  asks  in  a  word,  to  be  left 
perfectly  free  to  unfold  herself  precisely  in  that 
form  of  civilization  of  which  she  is  most  capa- 
ble. 

"She  asks  you  to  give  to  those  treaties  which 
were  made  under  the  pressure  of  war  a  gener- 
ous and  Christian  construction.  Because  you 
have  done  this,  because  the  Western  nations 
have  reversed  their  old  doctrine  of  force,  she 
responds,  and,  in  proportion  as  you  have  ex- 
pressed your  good  will,  she  has  come  forth  to 
meet  you;  and  I  aver  that  there  is  no  spot  on 
earth  where  there  has  been  greater  progress 
made  in  the  past  few  years  than  in  the  Empire 
of  China.  *  *  * 
P  "Yet  notwithstanding  this  manifest  prog- 
ress, there  are  people  who  will  tell  you  *  *  * 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Western  Treaty 
Powers  to  combine  for  the  purpose  of  coercing 


190        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

China  into  reforms  which  they  may  desire  but 
which  she  may  not  desire — ^who  undertake  to 
say  that  this  people  have  no  rights  which  you 
are  bound  to  respect.  In  their  coarse  language 
they  say:  *Take  her  by  the  throat.'  Using 
the  tyrant's  plea,  they  say  they  know  better 
what  China  wants  than  China  does  her- 
self. *  *  * 

"Now  it  is  against  the  malign  spirit  of  this 
tyrannical  element  that  this  Mission  was  sent 
forth  to  the  Christian  world.  *  *  * 

"Missions  and  men  may  pass  away,  but  the 
principles  of  eternal  justice  will  stand.  I  de- 
sire that  the  autonomy  of  China  may  be  pre- 
served. I  desire  that  her  independence  may  be 
secured.  I  desire  that  she  may  have  equality, 
that  she  may  dispense  equal  privileges  to  all 
nations.  If  the  opposite  school  is  to  prevail, 
if  you  are  to  use  coercion  against  that  great 
people,  then  who  are  to  exercise  the  coercion, 
whose  forces  are  you  to  use,  whose  views  are 
you  to  establish?  You  see  the  very  attempt  to 
carry  out  any  such  tyrannical  policy  would  in- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    191 

volve  not  only  China,  but  would  involve  you 
in  bloody  wars  with  each  other.  *  *  *  " 

I  have  given  this  speech  at  such  length  be- 
cause the  argument  is  not  done  yet.  It  would 
take  a  bold  man  to  make  its  counterpart  in 
Tokio  to-morrow,  and  changing  the  name 
China  to  divers  other  places  it  would  meet  with 
a  howl  in  most  countries  of  the  world  to-day,  or 
would  if  every  one  were  not  busy  with  the 
grand  and  final  tyranny  of  all. 

The  result  in  the  United  States  was  inmie- 
diate  and  lasting  success.  A  new  treaty  was 
signed  on  the  spot.  It  recognized  China's 
right  to  "umnolested  dominion  over  her  own 
territories'-  including  the  "concessions"  except 
as  already  modified  by  treaties.  It  gave  the 
Emperor  unlimited  right  to  make  such  changes 
or  improvements  or  decrees  as  he  chose  regard- 
ing the  internal  affairs  of  his  kingdom  without 
any  foreign  dictation. 

In  those  respects  the  principles  of  American 
policy  have  not  changed  from  that  day  to  this 
and  as  a  result  have  placed  us  in  the  honour- 


192        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

able  position  of  being  the  only  nation  which 
has  never  despoiled  the  poor  old  hermit,  and 
perhaps  of  being  her  sole  disinterested  cham- 
pion in  a  world  of  wolves.  For  the  rest  the 
treaty  went  too  far.  It  permitted  milimited 
immigration  which  later  fell  foul  of  our  west- 
ern coast  and  the  Labour  Unions. 

Facing  the  screams  of  the  Shanghai  press 
this  strange  embassy  proceeded  in  state  to  Lon- 
don. An  Oriental  more  or  less,  or  one  or  two 
brigades  of  ambassadors  were  no  novelty  in 
England  and  the  populace  seemed  to  proceed 
on  their  accustomed  way  in  spite  of  the  em- 
bassy. But  the  results  obtained  from  the  Gov- 
ernment were  as  far-reaching  in  their  way  as 
the  American  Treaty.  The  Queen  gave  an 
audience  at  Windsor,  the  stately  castle  later 
to  give  name  and  title  to  the  ruling  House  of 
England.  And  Lord  Clarendon,  a  liberal 
peer  who  had  recently  been  given  the  portfolio 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  took  Burlingame  into 
counsel.     The  consequence  was  a  total  reversal 


'     IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    193 

of  the  Palmerston  policy,  the  *Tirm  Hand," 
and  the  acceptance  of  the  ambassador's  princi- 
ples of  "Hands  Off."  Or,  as  the  Imperialists 
put  it,  "the  relapse  of  Great  Britain  into  an 
effeminate,  invertebrate,  inconsequent  policy, 
swayed  by  every  wind  from  without  and 
within,  and  opposed  to  the  judgment  of  her 
own  experienced  representative." 

This  policy  was  put  in  motion  by  a  letter 
written  by  the  minister  to  Burlingame,  a  copy 
of  which  was  sent  to  the  English  officers  in 
China  with  orders  to  act  accordingly.  The 
pith  of  the  communication  was  this : 

"Her  Majesty's  Government,  I  informed 
you  in  reply,  fully  admitted  that  the  Chinese 
Government  was  entitled  to  count  upon  the 
forbearance  of  foreign  nations ;  and  I  assured 
you  that,  as  far  as  this  country  was  concerned, 
there  was  neither  desire  nor  intention  to  ap- 
ply unfriendly  pressure  to  China  to  induce  her 
government  to  advance  more  rapidly  in  her  in- 
tercourse with  foreign  nations  than  was  con- 


194        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

sistent  with  safety  and  due  and  reasonable  re- 
gard for  the  feelings  of  her  subjects." 

One  other  thing  about  this  note  is  worth 
equal  notice.  No  matter  how  benign  and 
charitable  an  English  secretary  may  become, 
none  has  ever  been  known  to  desert  an  English- 
man. Let  us  hope  none  ever  will.  In  another 
passage  he  made  this  plain : 

"But  her  Majesty's  Government  is,  more- 
over, entitled  to  expect  from  China  as  an  indis- 
pensable condition  of  her  good  will,  the  fullest 
amount  of  protection  to  British  subjects  re- 
sorting to  her  dominions." 

A  howl  whose  echoes  still  sound  in  the  China 
Sea  went  up  when  this  order  arrived.  All 
the  old  traditions  were  thrown  overboard. 
Everybody  would  be  bankrupt.  Business  was 
ruined  for  ever.  The  world  was  delivered  to 
the  heathen,  and  was  no  longer  habitable. 

But  the  seal  of  authority  had  been  put  upon 
the  mission.  Napoleon  III  hastened  to  give 
it  a  royal  reception.  Bismarck,  planning  a 
raid  in  other  quarters,  was  as  soft  as  silk, 


m. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    195 

and  the  Czar  was  as  polite  as  a  bridegroom. 
What  the  ultimate  consequence  would  have 
been  if  Burlingame,  that  forceful  apostle  of 
justice,  had  lived  to  conduct  affairs  is  prob- 
lematical. Whether  he  could  have  steered 
the  Chinese  boat  through  the  subsequent  storm 
due  to  the  reactionaries  within  the  kingdom 
and  the  radicals  without,  is  a  question.  He 
died  in  St.  Petersburg.  But  his  philosophy 
and  the  questions  he  raised  are  not  dead. 


CHAPTEE  TWELVI 

"A  DUTY  TO  HUMANITY,"  THE  END 
OF  AN  EMPIRE 

The  Diplomacy  of  the  War  with  Spain — The  Crime 
of  National  Pride  and  Procrastination — The  Verdict 
of  History — The  Plight  of  Cuba — Revolution  Engi- 
neered in  New  York — Mutual  Cruelties — American 
"Pirates" — Cleveland's  Firm  Hand — Woodford  vs. 
Sagasta,  a  Triumph  of  Fair  Play — Concessions 
Made  by  Spain — "Home  Rule" — Removal  of  Weyler 
— "Autonomy" — Revocation  of  Reconcentration — 
Isabel's  Despair — The  Intervention  of  the  Pope — 
Final  Concessions  and  Armistice — "Remember  the 
Maine'' — An  Intercepted  Insult — The  Recalled  Min- 
ister and  the  Fateful  Message  to  Congress — A  Trib- 
ute to  Spanish  Courtesy. 

I  IMAGINE  that  the  average  American 
would  be  astonished  upon  an  impartial 
examination  of  the  diplomatic  corre- 
spondence leading  up  to  the  battle  of  Manila 
Bay  and  the  capture  of  San  Juan  Hill.  As 
far  as  the  United  States  was  concerned  it  re- 

196 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS        197 

veals  no  injury  done  us  by  the  Spaniards. 
The  war  sprang  out  of  increasing  demands 
made  by  President  McKinley.  The  record 
shows  that  these  were  met  by  the  Castilians  in 
a  really  remarkably  yielding  spirit,  considering 
their  traditionally  sensitive  "National  Hon- 
our" and  unbounded  pride.  And  as  far  as  the 
war  was  the  result  of  a  failure  of  negotiation, 
or  in  the  power  of  the  Spaniard  to  avoid  by 
any  possible  action,  it  turned  upon  a  punctilio, 
a  really  absurd  quibble  which  had  little  to  do 
with  the  merits  of  the  affair,  and  upon  a  few 
days'  procrastination  upon  the  part  of  the 
Spaniards.  And  even  this,  which  we  deemed  a 
delay,  amounted  to  violent  precipitation  of  ac- 
tion to  the  mind  of  Madrid. 

Before  recording  the  details  of  the  Ameri- 
can Minister's  hectic  weeks  in  Madrid,  it  must 
be  clearly  said  that  there  is  no  longer  any 
question  but  that  the  war  was  a  blessing  to  all 
parties  concerned ;  and  that  it  was  in  all  proba- 
bility the  only  possible  solution  of  an  interna- 
tional scandal.     It  should  be  classed  as  a  great 


198        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

surgical  operation,  whereby  an  incurable  sore 
was  cut  out  of  the  Spanish  body  politic,  against 
its  will,  but  to  its  salvation.  The  patient,  both 
before,  during  and  after  the  operation,  con- 
ducted himself  toward  the  doctor  in  a  manner 
highly  to  his  credit. 

These  facts  stand  forth,  indisputable: 

That  for  sixty  years  or  more  the  island  of 
Cuba  had  been  as  badly  misgoverned,  from  the 
Anglo-Saxon  point  of  view,  as  it  was  possible 
to  misgovern  it.  It  was  saddled  w^ith  an  atro- 
cious economic  system,  a  mediaeval  military 
dictatorship  operated  by  an  autocratic  and  ir- 
responsible governor,  bled  by  excessive  public 
taxes  and  private  graft,  and  in  an  uproar  all 
the  time. 

Even  with  the  most  honourable  intentions  in 
the  world  it  was  quite  impossible  for  the  Span- 
iards ever  to  restore  what  we  understand  by 
law  and  order. 

These  two  facts  constitute  the  case  of  the 
United  States — and  the  whole  case.  Follow- 
ing the  immediate  discussions  and  causes  of 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    199 

hostilities,  the  sympathies  of  the  impartial 
reader  will  lean  toward  the  anxious  and  cor- 
nered inheritors  of  the  splendours  of  Isabella. 

The  fact  that  public  opinion  in  the  United 
States  was  in  a  fever  heat  cannot  be  given  as 
a  legitimate  casus  belli  by  a  statesman,  and  the 
fulminations  of  senators  and  representatives 
have  never  in  our  history  been  a  safe  guide  to 
foreign  policy.  If  these  last  had  been  any 
criterion  we  should  have  invaded  and  annexed 
Cuba  long  ago  without  any  other  reason  than 
that  it  was  manifestly  placed  there  by  the  Lord 
to  be  owned  by  us. 

Before  picturing  the  negotiations  between 
Washington  and  Madrid,  so  abruptly  finished 
by  the  famous  message  of  the  11th  of  April, 
1898,  it  is  necessary  to  point  out  that  it  was 
universally  recognized  that  any  message  leav- 
ing a  decision  to  Congress  amounted  to  a  decla- 
ration of  war.  The  views  of  Congress  were 
that  the  insurgents  were  the  angelic  and  saintly 
victims  of  an  inhuman  warfare — that  the  con- 
centration camps  were  not  only  an  outrage 


200        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

upon  humanity,  but  a  hideous  breach  of  inter- 
national law;  that  the  Maine  had  been  blown 
up  by  the  Spanish  Government ;  and  that,  any- 
way, Cuba  was  to  be  freed  regardless  of  cir- 
cumstances, and  by  war,  no  matter  what  any- 
body said. 

This  fact  must  be  kept  in  mind.  It  was 
thoroughly  understood  by  all  hands,  the  efforts 
for  a  peaceful  solution  hinged  upon  preventing 
McKinley's  giving  Congress  its  head.  And 
so  all  discussion  finally  centred  upon  whether 
he  was  or  was  not  to  send  a  message  of  this 
sort. 

Granting  that  the  war  was  of  great  benefit 
to  Spain,  Cuba,  and  the  United  States,  as  well 
as  an  indispensable  step  both  in  the  develop- 
ment of  this  country  as  a  World  Power,  and  in 
the  establishment  of  a  new  sense  of  interna- 
tional comity  based  upon  justice  and  "the  de- 
cent respect  for  the  opinion"  of  mankind,  as 
well  as  "National  Interest,"  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that,  in  his  diplomatic  action,  McKinley 
showed  none  of  the  executive  strength  and  con- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    201 

trol  that  characterized  both  Grant  and  Cleve- 
land in  handling  this  same  problem.  In  fact 
he  didn't  handle  it  at  all.  He  turned  it  over  to 
the  mob  to  handle — a  proceeding  that  in  many- 
other  instances  in  our  history  would  have  led  to 
war. 

When  Cleveland  left  the  tiller  and  William 
McKinley  took  charge  of  affairs,  the  situation 
was  about  as  follows : 

In  February,  1895,  revolution  broke  out  in 
Cuba.  It  was  brought  on  mainly  by  the  mani- 
fest incapacity  of  even  the  most  radical  Span- 
ish mind  to  conceive  of  a  liberal  colonial  policy. 
To  this  was  added  a  high  protective  American 
tariff  on  sugar,  which  tended  to  ruin  the  prin- 
cipal industry,  and  cause  great  poverty  and 
suffering  on  the  island.  While  we  are  posing 
as  apostles  of  a  new  era  of  good  will  toward 
men  and  of  policies  of  world-wide  justice  which 
will  reduce  wars  to  a  minimum,  it  is  worth  while 
taking  a  little  thought  to  the  manifest  hard- 
ships and  ill  feeling  continually  engendered  by 
artificial  tampering  with  economic  laws  upon 


202        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

arbitrary  boundary  lines — in  which  we  are  the 
worst  offenders  on  earth. 

The  Revolution  was  financed  and  recruited 
in  large  measure  from  the  United  States,  with 
headquarters  at  New  York.  Maximo  Gomez 
was  called  from  San  Domingo  to  take  com- 
mand. 

The  war  started  in  at  once  with  the  utmost 
ferocity  on  both  sides.  It  is  impossible  at  this 
date  to  choose  between  the  methods  of  the  com- 
batants. The  Cubans  were  the  ones  to  begin 
the  deliberate  work  of  devastation.  Gomez's 
first  act  was  to  issue  an  order  that  all  planta- 
tions should  stop  their  labours,  and  that  who- 
ever should  attempt  to  gi'ind  the  sugar  crop 
would  have  his  cane  burned  and  his  buildings 
demolished,  and  would  be  considered  as  an  en- 
emy, treated  as  a  traitor,  and  be  tried  as  such 
in  case  of  his  capture.  Since  he  carried  out 
this  policy  and  threat  to  the  letter,  it  is  impos- 
sible for  any  one  aware  of  the  facts  to  weep 
with  the  insurgents  over  the  ruin  of  industry 
and  the  destruction  of  the  island. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    203 

General  Weyler  went  to  work  in  true  Span- 
ish fashion  to  clean  the  rebels  up.  This  he 
could  not  do  because  he  could  not  catch  them. 
So  he  ordered  the  whole  populace  into  con- 
centration camps.  In  spite  of  the  violent 
statements  common  at  the  time,  the  fact  is  that 
such  an  order  is  not  forbidden  by  the  recognized 
laws  of  war,  nor  is  it  an  uncommon  occurrence. 
It  was  practised  both  in  the  Civil  War  and  in 
South  Africa  too.  The  horror  of  it  was  that  it 
was  impossible  properly  to  feed  these  people — 
particularly  since  the  rebels  made  all  business  a 
crime  and  the  introduction  of  food  to  "towns 
occupied  by  the  enemy"  a  cause  for  summary 
execution. 

Filibustering  on  a  grand  scale  started  in  the 
United  States.  Although  most  of  our  availa- 
ble coast  patrol  earnestly  and  vigorously  en- 
deavoured to  stop  it,  the  Spaniards  claimed 
continuously  and  bitterly  that  our  winking  at 
these  forays  prolonged  the  trouble. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Spaniards  persisted 
in  considering  as  "pirates"  all  filibusters  they 


204        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

caught  and  could  not  even  conceive  of  any 
reason  why  they  should  not  be  shot  on  the 
spot,  Wlien  these  were  American  citizens, 
"fighting  for  freedom,"  this  attitude  caused  the 
greatest  fury  in  the  United  States.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact  no  Americans  were  executed  at  this 
time,  but  the  State  Department  had  to  make 
vigorous  appeals  several  times  to  prevent  it. 

Incidents  like  this,  and  a  press  screaming 
with  accounts  of  atrocities  of  "Weyler,  the 
Butcher,"  together  with  the  unquestioned  an- 
archy and  misery  in  the  island,  inflamed  a 
Congress  already  in  sympathy  with  the  revolu- 
tion to  introduce  resolutions  as  regularly  as 
clockwork.  In  one  form  or  another  these  all 
denounced  Spain  and  demanded  the  independ- 
ence of  Cuba.  The  most  violent  of  these 
Congressional  broadsides  was  delivered  by 
John  Sherman,  afterward  made  Secretary  of 
State  by  McKinley,  and  was  based  upon  a 
newspaper  story  later  found  to  be  without  any 
foundation  whatever. 

Meanwhile  President  Cleveland  had  kindly 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    205 

and  firmly  kept  the  affair  in  his  own  hands,  and 
reiterated  the  American  position: 

First:  that  there  seemed  to  be  no  prospect  of 
the  revolt  ever  coming  to  a  conclusion  under 
existing  conditions  until  the  country  was 
ruined  completely. 

Secondly:  that  the  United  States  could  not 
very  well  keep  hands  off  this  situation  indefi- 
nitely. The  reasons  given  were  very  frank 
and  concise:  That  our  pecimiary  loss  was 
enormous;  that  the  sympathy  of  the  people 
with  the  revolution  was  very  great;  that  the 
governments  were  always  at  odds  about  Cu- 
bans naturalized  in  America  carrying  on 
propaganda  in  New  York  and  filibustering  to 
Cuba;  that  the  insurrection  involved  the  polic- 
ing of  an  immense  seacoast;  that  there  was  a 
growing  and  vehement  demand  for  recogni- 
tion and  violent  intervention. 

Thirdly:  that  he  offered  mediation  as  a  way 
out  of  the  impasse. 

"It  would  seem  that  if  Spain  would  offer 
Cuba   a  genuine   autonomy — a   measure    of 


206        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

home-rule  which,  while  preserving  the  sover- 
eignty of  Spain,  would  satisfy  all  national  re- 
quirements of  her  Spanish  subjects — there 
should  be  no  just  reason  why  the  pacification 
of  the  island  might  not  be  effected  on  that 
basis." 

Cleveland  saw  what  apparently  McKinley 
could  not — that  the  major  difficulty  would  be 
with  the  peculiar  pride  of  the  Spaniard.  He 
adds:  *'It  would  keep  intact  the  possessions 
of  Spain  without  touching  her  honour,  which 
will  be  consulted  rather  than  impugned  by  the 
adequate  redress  of  admitted  grievances." 

Then  just  as  the  Cleveland  administration 
came  to  a  close  the  Queen  issued  a  decree 
granting  "home  rule"  to  Cuba.  It  was  a  kind 
of  emasculated,  experimental  home  rule,  in- 
vented by  a  people  to  whom  such  an  idea  was 
almost  inconceivable.  But  it  more  than  cov- 
ered the  ground  of  the  original  Cuban  com- 
plaint, and  was  a  genuine  and  honest  effort 
toward  emancipation. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  an  en- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    207 

tirely  new  cast  of  characters  took  up  the  drama 
for  the  fifth  act. 

William  McKinley  succeeded  Grover  Cleve- 
land, John  Sherman,  the  veteran  Olney,  as 
Secretary  of  State,  and  General  Stewart  Lyn- 
don Woodford  went  as  minister  to  Spain. 
Very  shortly  afterward  the  Spanish  Ministry 
underwent  an  even  more  radical  transforma- 
tion. The  new  team  constituted  the  most  lib- 
eral as  well  as  the  ablest  men  in  the  Empire 
— Senor  Praxides  Mateo  Sagasta,  champion 
of  "peace  at  any  price  save  loss  of  dignity,"  be- 
came president  of  the  council,  with  Senor 
GuUon,  Minister  of  State,  and  Senor  Moret, 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs. 

The  new  game  opened  in  an  interview  be- 
tween Woodford  and  the  outgoing  minister, 
the  Duque  de  Tetuan.  "Friendly  in  manner," 
it  was  reported,  "but  positive  in  meaning." 
Sherman's  proposition  was  laid  on  the  table. 
Its  kernel  was  that  the  United  States  had  a 
"duty"  as  well  as  a  "right"  to  intervene,  un- 
less Spain  could  settle  this  little  affair  in  a 


208        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

^'reasonable  time."  And  in  very  definite  lan- 
guage it  stated  that  this  time  might  be  draw- 
ing to  a  close,  and  the  duty  become  imminent. 
It  ended  with  the  suggestion  that  Spain  make 
use  of  the  offices  of  the  United  States  in  some 
manner  or  other  to  reach  a  final  conclusion. 

These  instructions  had  "put  it  up  to"  the 
minister  to  get  the  Spainards  to  agree  to  con- 
cessions in  Cuba,  to  prevent  an  American  war. 
The  record  of  the  subsequent  six  months  is  not 
only  of  the  greatest  credit  to  Woodford,  but 
reveals  an  advance  in  Spanish  policy  that  is  lit- 
tle short  of  miraculous,  considering  antecedents 
of  a  thousand  years  of  despotic  sway.        • 

The  Spaniards'  answer  to  this  preliminarj'' 
broadside  consisted  in  a  volume  of  polite  lan- 
guage, a  futile  repetition  of  the  contention 
that  if  the  United  States  would  stop  filibuster- 
ing expeditions  all  would  be  well.  But  won- 
derful to  relate,  they  took  action — for  them, 
drastic  action.  They  recalled  General  Wey- 
ler,  replacing  him  with  Blanco,  under  instruc- 
tions   to    alleviate   the    concentration   curse. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    209 

And  the  Queen,  by  imperial  decree,  extended 
to  Cuba  all  the  rights  enjoyed  by  peninsular 
Spaniards,  establishing  in  the  island  all  the 
electoral  laws  of  Spain,  and  granting  auton- 
omy. 

Any  fair-minded  person  will  readily  admit 
that  this  was  not  an  unworthy  attempt  to  meet 
the  American  position.  It  must  be  admitted 
at  the  same  time  that  these  measures,  concilia- 
tory as  they  were  intended  to  be,  and  in  fact 
were,  failed  to  quell  the  riot.  The  reconcen- 
trados  could  not  be  fed  because  the  revolu- 
tionists would  allow  no  work  to  be  done  or  pro- 
duce Ijo  be  grown.  And  they  would  not  hear 
of  autonomy.  Nobody  seemed  to  want  auton- 
omy at  this  stage.  Gomez  foamed  at  the 
idea;  and  the  loyal  Spaniards  in  Cuba,  banded 
together  to  enforce  the  mediaeval  regime, 
screamed  loudly  against  it. 

Still,  the  Spaniards  had  made  an  effort  to 
meet  the  American  demand.  McKinley  gave 
them  full  credit  for  it  in  his  message,  sent  to 
Congress  in  December,  1897.     Said  he : 


210        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

"That  the  Government  of  Sagasta  has  en- 
tered upon  a  course  from  which  recession  with 
honour  is  impossible  can  hardly  be  questioned ; 
that  in  the  few  weeks  it  has  existed  it  has  made 
earnest  of  its  professions  is  undeniable.  *  *  * 
It  is  honestly  due  to  Spain  and  to  our  friendly 
relations  with  Spain  that  she  should  be  given  a 
reasonable  chance  to  realize  her  expectations 
and  to  approve  the  asserted  efficacy  of  the  new 
order  of  things  to  which  she  stands  irrevocably 
committed.  She  has  recalled  the  conunander 
whose  brutal  orders  inflamed  the  American 
mind  and  shocked  the  civilized  world.  She  has 
modified  the  horrible  order  of  reconcentration 
and  has  undertaken  to  care  for  the  helpless  and 
permit  those  who  desire  to  to  resume  the  culti- 
vation of  their  fields,  *  *  *  "  and  so  on.  He 
finished  with  the  statement  that: 

"If  it  shall  hereafter  appear  to  be  a  duty  im- 
posed by  our  obligations  to  ourselves,  to  civili- 
zation and  humanity,  to  intervene  with  force,  it 
shall  be  without  fault  on  our  part  and  only  be- 
cause the  necessity  for  such  action  will  be  so 


M.^ 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    211 

clear  as  to  command  the  support  and  approval 
of  the  civilized  world." 

This  is  the  appearance  of  a  new  and  a  dar- 
ing doctrine.  That  regardless  of  anything 
that  Spain,  with  all  honesty  and  even  unheard- 
of  humility,  might  do,  this  country  was  pre- 
pared to  assume  the  role  of  the  benevolent 
grandfather  with  the  slipper,  and  take  away 
the  dangerous  toys.  It  gave  warning  that 
diplomacy,  in  the  sense  of  a  negotiation  be- 
tween nations,  might  avail  nothing,  and  that 
peace  might  not  in  the  least  depend  upon  our 
relations  with  Spain  or  their  efforts  to  pre- 
serve it.  That  this  was  the  actual  case  we  shall 
see.  Sincerely  in  hopes  that  the  reforms  in- 
augurated by  Sagasta  might  bring  some 
measure  of  tranquillity,  the  President  on  the 
24th  of  January,  1898,  told  the  Spanish  Min- 
ister, Senor  Dupuy  de  Lome,  that  he  had  de- 
termined to  send  the  battleship  Maine  to  Ha- 
vana as  a  mark  of  friendship — a  well-recog- 
nized form  of  international  compliment.  Old 
General  Fitzhugh  Lee,  Consul  at  Havana, 


212        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

wired  to  delay  it,  because  of  high  feeling  among 
residents,  but  she  had  sailed,  and  pretty  soon 
dropped  anchor  in  the  harbour  without  a  com- 
ment. 

Then  the  fates  began  putting  some  action 
into  the  piece.  Senor  Dupuy  de  Lome,  a 
faithful  servant,  and  a  courteous  diplomat, 
wrote  a  letter  to  a  friend.  Probably  it  was  the 
mildest  personal  letter  he  had  written  for  a 
year.  It  was  his  private  opinion  of  the  Presi- 
dent's message. 

"The  message  has  been  a  disillusionment  to 
the  insurgents,  who  expected  something  dif- 
ferent; but  I  regard  it  as  bad.  Besides  the 
ingrained  and  inevitable  ill-breeding  with  which 
is  repeated  all  that  the  press  and  public  opinion 
in  Spain  have  said  about  Weyler,  it  once  more 
shows  that  McKinley  is  weak  and  a  bidder  for 
the  admiration  of  the  crowd,  besides  being  a 
would-be  politician  who  tries  to  leave  a  door 
open  behind  himself  while  keeping  on  good 
terms  with  the  jingoes  of  the  party." 

An  enterprising  journalist,  whose  zeal  cer- 


I 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    213 

tainly  exceeded  his  propriety,  intercepted  and 
opened  the  letter,  and  it  was  printed  broad- 
cast over  the  United  States  on  the  9th  of  Feb- 
ruary. 

Of  course,  nobody  stopped  to  reflect  that 
even  an  ambassador  as  ultra-pohte  and  court- 
eous as  a  Spaniard  probably  had  an  opinion  of 
his  own,  and  that  it  was  not  extraordinary  that 
he  should  have  considered  the  President  impo- 
hte  as  well  as  outrageous  in  dictating  to  Spain 
as  if  he  had  been  its  nurse  and  vilifying  Span- 
ish soldiers  with  no  reference  to  Cuban  black- 
guards. The  whole  country  flamed  in  fury 
from  Hatteras  to  the  Golden  Gate. 

The  minister  telegraphed  Madrid  at  once, 
saying  that  his  position  would  probably  be  un- 
tenable and  notifying  the  Queen  to  decide  upon 
her  course  without  reference  to  him  in  any  way. 
Promptly,  on  the  next  day,  he  received  his  re- 
call from  the  Minister  of  State. 

This  was  a  link  in  the  chain.  And  yet  it  is 
impossible  to  charge  Spain  with  the  incident  in 
any   degree.     The   recall   is   the   fastest   on 


214        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

record,  and  reveals  an  anxious  desire  to  pro- 
pitiate the  United  States  incompatible  with  any 
theory  except  one  of  ultra-pacifism. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  a  link.  Or  rather  it  was 
another  faggot  to  feed  the  flame  of  popular 
opinion  upon  which  the  President  was  riding. 
The  flame  shortly  developed  into  a  conflagra- 
tion. 

At  9:40  P.  M.,  February  15th,  without  any 
prologue,  the  battleship  Maine  blew  up  and 
sank. 

A  court  of  inquiry  established  that  the  vessel 
was  blown  up  from  without — probably  by  a 
mine.  Who  blew  it  up,  there  was  and  still  is 
no  evidence.  It  is  practically  settled  beyond 
the  realms  of  possibility  of  error  that  it  was 
not  the  Spanish  Government. 

The  subsequent  war-cry,  ''Remember  the 
Maine/'  was  a  popular  slogan  that  could  hardly 
take  into  account  the  fact  that  the  utmost  sjin- 
pathy  and  regret  was  expressed  by  the  Queen 
and  the  Premier  of  Spain,  and  that  Senor 
GuUon  immediately  promised  every  reparation 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    215 

possible  if  it  should  prove  to  be  the  fault  of 
Spanish  authorities. 

These  incidentals  were  the  popular  courses 
of  war.  But  to  the  statesman  they  were  not 
even  hard  diplomatic  problems.  They  were 
merely  the  bellows  behind  the  wind  blowing  for 
war,  to  be  used  for  popular  support  in  case 
war  should  be  declared  for  other  reasons.  Un- 
less, indeed,  it  was  the  pressure  of  this  opinion 
that  caused  them  to  begin  it. 

The  most  tangible  immediate  effect  was  an 
appropriation  of  $50,000,000  by  Congress 
*'for  the  National  defence  and  each  and  every 
purpose  connected  therewith." 

I  think  I  have  made  it  clear  that  we  had  so 
far  no  grievance  against  Spain  except  her  fail- 
ure to  bring  about  peace  in  Cuba ;  and  that  she 
had  taken  our  orders  as  far  as  she  was  capable. 
At  this  moment  she  was  put  really  into  an  un- 
tenable position.  For  as  fast  as  she  advanced 
with  liberal  propositions  and  the  olive  branch, 
so  much  the  more  confident  did  the  rebels  be- 
come, and  so  much  the  greater  their  demands. 


216        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Our  pressure  for  peace  was  all  directed  toward 
the  Spaniards.  Gomez  met  their  messengers, 
undertaking  to  make  terms,  with  instant  death 
by  a  firing  squad. 

After  this  appropriation  Sagasta  recognized 
that  he  would  have  to  take  some  drastic  action. 

Under  the  impression  that  the  object  of  his 
negotiations  was  to  keep  the  peace  if  pos- 
sible; Woodford,  our  minister,  worked  over- 
time in  Madrid.  From  March  17th  to  April 
11th  he  drew  proposal  after  proposal  out  of 
the  Spanish  Council  and  he  never  sent  a  dis- 
patch but  that  reiterated  his  conviction  that  the 
Spaniard  would  do  anything,  no  matter  what, 
to  prevent  a  rupture,  short  of  what  they  con- 
sidered National  dishonour.  On  the  17th  he 
wrote : 

"Senor  Sagasta,  an  experienced  statesman, 
a  loyal  Spaniard,  and  a  faithful  friend  of  the 
Queen  *  *  *  would  do  anything  for  peace 
that  Spain  would  approve  and  accept." 

On  the  18th: 

"Sagasta  has  finally  and  positively  declared 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    217 

for  peace  at  any  terms  at  all  consistent  with 
Spanish  honour." 

On  the  19th  he  cabled: 

"If  you  will  acquaint  me  fully  with  general 
settlement  desired,  1  believe  Spanish  Govern- 
ment will  offer  without  compulsion,  and  upon 
its  own  motion,  such  terms  of  settlement  as  may 
be  satisfactory  to  both  nations.  Large  liberty 
as  to  details  should  be  offered  to  Spain,  but 
your  friendship  is  recognized  and  appreciated, 
and  I  now  believe  it  will  be  a  pleasure  to  Span- 
ish Government  to  propose  what  will  probably 
be  satisfactory  to  both." 

Invaluable,  kindly  man.  He  was  one  of  the 
many  diplomats  this  nation  has  had  whose 
native  straightforward  courtesy  and  patent 
honesty  had  given  him  the  confidence  as  much 
of  his  adversaries  as  of  his  own  people.  And 
it  is  clear,  moreover,  that  he  could  do  what  he 
said.  The  spirit  of  charity  is  invincible — ex- 
cept against  cannibals,  Barbary  pirates,  and 
Huns. 

William  Rufus  Day,  acting  Secretary  of 


218        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

State,  replied  to  this  optimistic  cable  in  almost 
savage  style.     Said  he: 

"There  remain  general  conditions  in  Cuba 
which  cannot  be  endured,  and  which  will  de- 
mand action  on  our  part  unless  Spain  restores 
honourable  peace.  *  *  *  April  15  is  none  too 
early  date  for  accomplishment  of  these  pur- 
poses. *  *  *  It  is  proper  that  you  should  know 
that,  unless  events  otherwise  indicate,  the 
President,  having  exhausted  diplomatic  agen- 
cies to  secure  peace  in  Cuba,  will  lay  the  whole 
question  before  Congress." 

On  the  24th  the  Spanish  Cabinet  submitted 
a  plan.  They  agreed  to  an  immediate  armis- 
tice, provided  the  Cubans  would  do  the  same; 
and  agreed  to  submit  terms  of  peace  to  the 
Cuban  Congress,  in  the  meantime  having 
granted  that  Congress  authority  to  negotiate 
peace. 

Certain  it  is  that  they  were  "coming  across," 
as  the  phrase  goes. 

But  Secretary  Day  was  not  to  be  satisfied 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    219 

with  this.     His  next  word  on  March  27th  was: 

"See  if  following  can  be  done: 

"First.  Armistice  until  October  1.  Nego- 
tiations meantime  looking  for  peace  between 
Spain  and  insurgents  through  friendly  offices 
of  President,  United  States. 

"Second.  Inimediate  revocation  of  recon- 
centrado  order.  *  *  * 

"Add  if  possible: 

"Third.  If  terms  of  peace  not  satisfactorily 
settled  by  October  1,  President  of  United 
States  to  be  final  arbitrator  between  Spain  and 
insurgents. 

"If  Spain  agrees,  President  will  use  friendly 
offices  to  get  insurgents  to  accept  plan." 

Driven  by  repeated  cables  from  Washington 
saying  that  no  delay  could  be  brooked,  Wood- 
ford wired  home : 

"Have  had  conference  this  afternoon  with 
the  President  of  the  Council,  the  Minister  for 
Foreign  Affairs  and  Minister  for  Colonies. 
Conference  adjourned  until  Thursday  after- 


220        DRAIMATIC  MOMENTS 

noon,  March  31.  I  have  sincere  belief  that  ar- 
rangement will  then  be  reached,  honourable  to 
Spain  and  satisfactory  to  the  United  States 
and  Cuba.  I  beg  you  to  withhold  all  action 
until  you  receive  my  report  *  *  *  Thursday 
night,  March  31." 

On  the  next  day  the  reconcentration  orders 
were  revoked. 

That  afternoon  at  4 :30  the  Spanish  Cabinet 
agi'eed  to  the  American  terms,  with  one  fatal 
exception.  They  insisted  that  the  offer  of  the' 
armistice  should  originate  with  the  insurgents. 

Here  was  a  pretty  thing  for  grown-up  na- 
tions to  go  to  war  about.  Woodford  might 
well  call  it  a  punctilio.  Punctilio  it  was. 
But  to  the  Spanish  mind  it  was  everything. 
To  make  the  offer,  these  officers  believed, 
would  be  to  raise  a  whirlwind  in  Spain. 
Rather  all  go  down  together. 

But  this  was  not  all.  The  Pope,  at  this 
juncture,  offered  his  services.  The  Spanish 
jumped  at  the  chance  to  get  out  of  this  hole 
their  national  pride  had  placed  them  in.     They 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    221 

agreed  readily  to  accept  any  plan  for  the 
cessation  of  hostilities  proposed  by  his  Holi- 
ness. He  might  even  propose  that  they  initi- 
ate them.     It  was  a  way  out. 

Senor  Gullon  tore  over  to  Woodford  with 
the  proposition.  Woodford  thought  he  had 
saved  the  day.  He  wired  his  government  that 
Spain  wouljd  accept  Pope's  suggestion  for  an 
armistice,  asking  only  that  the  United  States 
remove  their  fleet  from  Cuban  waters." 

Here  we  have  the  trouble  again,  if  it  be 
trouble.  The  Spaniard  wished  to  have  some 
faint  sign  of  independence — some  condition 
exacted  for  the  satisfaction  of  an  old,  proud 
and  noble  race. 

Day  was  inexorable.  His  answer  to  this 
proposal  said:  "The  disposition  of  our  fleet 
must  be  left  to  us.  An  armistice  to  be  effective 
must  be  immediately  proffered  and  accepted 
by  insurgents.  *  *  *  The  President  cannot 
hold  his  message  longer  than  Tuesday." 

Woodford,  bent  upon  his  own  problem  of 
Teaching  a  satisfactory  conclusion  with  Spain, 


222        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

finally  reached  it.  The  Queen  yielded  com- 
pletely, with  great  emotion.  The  paper  she 
was  prepared  to  sign  was  a  passionate  renun- 
ciation. The  Minister's  dispatch  to  President 
McKinley  read : 

'^Should  the  Queen  proclaim  the  following 
before  12  o'clock  noon  on  Wednesday,  April 
6th,  will  you  sustain  the  Queen,  and  can  you 
prevent  hostile  action  by  Congress  ? 

"  'At  the  request  of  the  Holy  Father,  in  this 
passion  week,  and  in  the  name  of  Christ,  I  pro- 
claim immediate  and  unconditional  suspen- 
sion of  hostilities  in  the  Island  of  Cuba, 

"'This  suspenmon  to  become  immediately 
effective  so  soon  as  accepted  by  the  insurgents 
in  that  island,  and  to  continue  for  the  space 
of  six  months,  to  the  5th  of  October,  1898. 

"  'I  do  this  to  give  time  for  passion  to  cease, 
and  in  the  sincere  hope  and  belief  that  during 
this  suspension  permanent  and  honourable 
peace  may  be  obtained  between  the  insular 
government  of  Cuba  and  those  of  my  subjects 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    223 

in  that  island  who  are  now  in  rebellion  against 
the  authority  of  Spain, 

"  'I  pray  the  blessing  of  Heaven  upon  this 
truce  of  God,  which  I  now  declare  in  His  name 
and  with  the  sanction  of  the  Holy  Father  of 
all  Christendom'/^ 

Woodford  continued  his  plea  in  these  words : 

"Please  read  this  in  the  light  of  my  previous 
telegrams  and  letters.  I  helieve  this  means 
peace,  which  the  sober  judgment  of  our  people 
will  approve  long  before  next  November,  and 
which  must  be  approved  at  the  bar  of  final 
history.  *  *  *  I  will  show  your  reply  to  the 
Queen  in  person,  and  I  believe  that  you  will 
approve  this  last  conscientious  offer  for  peace." 

And  on  the  9th  of  August,  even  in  the  face 
of  a  discouraging  reply,  the  Spaniards  ordered 
General  Blanco  to  proclaim  the  armistice. 

Going  over  this  record  it  has  come  home  to 
me  with  great  force  that  the  American  people 
have  never  given  Spain  the  credit  for  this  su- 
preme effort;  and  that  the  charity,  forbearance 


224        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

and  tolerant  good  wiU  which  have  sometimes 
been  manifest  with  us  ahnost  to  a  fault,  were 
totally  lacking,  and  that  Woodford  was  jus- 
tified in  the  conclusions  of  his  final  telegram: 

"  *  *  *  I  believe  that  you  will  get  final  set- 
tlement before  August  1  on  one  of  the  follow- 
ing bases:  Either  such  autonomy  as  the  in- 
surgents may  agree  to  accept,  or  recognition  by 
Spain  of  the  independence  of  the  island,  or 
cession  of  the  island  to  the  United  States.  I 
hope  that  nothing  will  be  done  to  humiliate 
Spain." 

He  said  that  he  was  satisfied  that  the  gov- 
ernment at  Madrid  was  going,  and  was  loyally 
ready  to  go,  as  fast  and  as  far  as  it  could. 

And  this  the  whole  record  abundantly  con- 
firms. Step  by  step  in  this  one-sided  diplo- 
matic encounter  the  Spaniards  had  yielded 
every  demand,  until  now  they  had  given  all. 

Nevertheless,  on  the  11th  of  April,  McKin- 
ley  sent  the  message  to  Congress.  The  only 
mention  in  this  war  document  of  the  final 
yielding  of  the  Queen  was  a  terse  statement. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     225 

without  comment,  that  he  had  heard  General 
Blanco  had  been  ordered  to  suspend  hostilities. 

But,  as  everyone  knew,  the  message  was  the 
easting  of  the  die  for  war. 

The  purpose  of  this  review  is  not  to  belittle 
the  effects  of  the  Spanish  War — its  benefits  are 
manifest — nor  even  to  conclude  that  McKinley 
was  wrong  in  determining  once  and  for  all  to 
end  the  Cuban  cancer  by  a  clean  sweep,  but,  in 
justice  to  the  Spaniards,  to  point  out  that  the 
war  was  the  result  of  this  determination,  and 
was  launched  with  this  purpose  quite  regardless 
of  diplomacy  so  ably  conducted  by  Woodford, 
and  in  the  face  of  the  most  extraordinary  ef- 
forts and  concessions  on  the  part  of  the  Queen. 
Diplomacy  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter. 
The  Spaniard  did  not  want  to  fight,  had  no  in- 
tention of  fighting,  and  met  our  negotiations 
much  more  than  half  way,  and  a  great  deal 
further  than  any  impartial  and  sympathetic 
observer  would  hav^e  supposed  possible.  Xhe 
only  grievance  we  had  against  them  at  all  was 
inherent,  and  not  subject  to  change — a  mind 


226        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

given  to  procrastination  and  delay,  a  belief  in 
their  own  institutions,  and  a  sensitive  code  of 
national  honour.  To  say  that  we  considered 
this  a  cause  for  War  is  of  course  ridiculous. 

The  answer  is  that  sixty  years  of  riot  in  Cuba 
was  all  we  could  stand,  and  that  we  purposed  to 
end  it.  And  nothing  the  Spaniard  or  our 
minister  could  do  or  say  had  any  effect  upon 
the  resolution.  So  it  was.  And  this  was 
probably  correct.  But  with  it  let  us  give  the 
Spaniard  all  credit.  Two  years  of  diplomatic 
negotiations  were  all  on  his  side. 


CHAPTER  THIRTEEN 

^  THE  COUP  D'ETAT 

THE  INSIDE  STORY  OF  PANAMA 

The  Man  Behind  the  Revolution — Room  1162, 
Waldorf  Astoria — The  Liberty  Hall  of  Panama — 
Bunau-Varilla  Goes  Scouting  in  Washington — The 
Three  Horns  of  the  Panama  Dilemma — Reading  the 
Future  Actions  of  the  Government — Playing  with 
Destiny — ^A  Kingdom  for  a  Warship — Victory  on 
the  Isthmus — "Time  is  of  the  Essence" — Intrigue 
and  Procrastination  Squelched  by  Theodore  Roose- 
velt. The  Dramatic  Finish  in  John  Hay's  Resi- 
dence. ^ 

I '  ^^"^  N  September  23,  1902,  in  room  1162 
I  1  of  the  Waldorf  Astoria  Hotel,  the 
^■^^  cradle  of  revolution,  two  men  were  in 
eager  conference.  One  was  Doctor  Manuel 
Amador,  conspirator  plenipotentiary  from 
Panama,  prototype  of  those  zealous  but  impo- 
tent soldiers  of  fortune  that  have  engineered 

'     uproar  in  Central  America  as  a  chronic  pas- 

227 


228        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

time  for  the  last  century.  He  was  fiery,  but 
inconstant,  patriotic  but  bombastic,  zealous  but 
visionary,  mighty  to  plot  but  utterly  incapable 
of  action.  Vanity,  pride,  and  despair  were 
written  on  his  features. 

The  other  man,  Bunau-Varilla,  was  his 
antithesis  in  every  respect.  He  was  clear  cut, 
with  lines  of  prompt,  decisive  action  written  all 
over  his  features.  He  was  a  Frenchman, 
gifted  with  all  the  imagination  and  daring  of 
his  race.  Courage,  endurance,  brilliant  intel- 
ligence, limitless  resources,  a  flashing  wit,  and 
a  contempt  for  obstacles,  had  already  made  his 
name  famous  throughout  the  civilized  world, 
and  yet  he  was  in  a  sense  an  adventurer.  Like 
a  knight  of  old  on  the  road  to  Palestine,  he 
represented  nobody.  In  the  tremendous  and 
dangerous  game  of  world  politics  and  national 
destinies  he  played  a  lone  hand,  relying  only 
upon  his  own  unbounded  spirit  and  consum- 
mate audacity. 

He  had  just  arrived  in  New  York  from 
Paris.     Upon  learning  of  the  amazing  action 


m  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     229 

of  Colombia,  this  indomitable  champion  of  the 
Isthmian  canal  had  gone  into  action.  Within 
half  an  hour  he  was  in  the  office  of  M.  Lindo. 
M.  Lindo  was  the  head  of  the  largest  banking 
house  of  New  York  and  Panama.  We  have 
M.  Bunau-Varilla's  own  record  of  events. 

"  'Well,  M.  Lindo,'  said  I,  after  the  first  ex- 
change of  compliments,  *is  the  rumour  true 
that  the  people  of  Panama  are  going  to  make 
a  revolution?' 

"He  shrugged  his  shoulders  in  a  dishearten- 
ing way  and  said :  'Faltan  recursos*  ( 'They 
have  no  financial  means.') 

"'What!'  said  I,  disappointed  at  this 
answer.  'These  people  who  are  ever  ready  to 
make  a  revolution  for  insignificant  causes,  are 
going  to  keep  quiet  when  Colombia  decrees 
that  they  must  die  of  hunger.' 

"'It  can't  be  helped,'  he  said.  'Without 
money  a  revolution  cannot  be  brought  about 
any  more  than  a  war.  But  if  you  care  to  know 
what  the  situation  really  is  I  will  ask  Amador 
to  come  and  see  you.' 


230        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

"*What!'  said  I,  surprised,  *Amador  is 
here?' 

"  'Yes,'  answered  Lindo,  lowering  his  voice, 
'he  has  come  precisely  to  obtain  the  means  of     j 
bringing  about  a  revolution,  but  he  has  failed     ' 
and  is  sailing  for  Panama  in  a  few  days.     He 
will  tell  you  all.     He  is  in  despair.'  "  i 

It  was  the  following  morning  that  Amador 
and  Bunau-Varilla  sat  face  to  face  in  room 
1162  of  the  Waldorf  Astoria,  and  there  lies  the 
key  to  the  Revolution  of  Panama,  as  is  revealed 
by  the  working  of  this  master  Diplomat-at- 
Large. 

Amador  was  speaking,  agitated  with  sup- 
pressed emotion  and  indignation. 

"During  the  past  year"  said  he,  "a  group  of 
citizens  of  the  Isthmus,  of  whom  I  was  one, 
have  met  together  to  consider  the  measures 
to  be  taken  if  Colombia  rejected  the  Hay-  ^ 
Herran  Treaty. 

"We  one  and  all  agreed  that  such  a  decision 
would  ruin  the  inhabitants  and  transform  the 
Isthmus  into  a  virgin  forest 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     231 

"Confronted  by  a  decision  so  despotic,  we 
decided  to  prepare  for  an  armed  combat,  rather 
I     than  submit  passively  to  the  tyrant's  sentence 

of  death. 
I         "But  Colombia  was  capable  of  crushing  all 
resistance.  *  *  *  Consequently  we  turned  our 
L     eyes  toward  the  great  American  Republic.  *  *  * 
I  "Why  should  not  this  great  Republic,  so 

f      rich,  so  powerful,  give  the  necessary  co-opera- 
tion in  money  and  military  force? 
I  "This  idea  seemed  to  us  so  reasonable  that 

I  we  decided  to  entrust  with  a  mission  to  the 
United  States  a  certain  Beers,  more  generally 
known  by  the  name  of  Captain  Beers. 

"He  was  an  employee  of  the  Panama  Rail- 
road. His  mission  consisted  in  visiting  the 
right  persons  in  order  to  learn  whether  this 
double  support  could  be  obtained. 

"The  persons  whom  Beers  saw  assured  him 
that  nothing  was  easier  and  they  promised  to 
obtain  all  that  we  asked  for.  *  *  * 

"Our  friends  then  decided  to  delegate  two  of 
their  number  in  order  to  reach  a  final  under- 


232        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

standing.  I  was  one  of  the  two  delegates  but 
I  was  forced  to  go  alone.  As  soon  as  I  arrived 
I  was  received  with  open  arms  by  the  persons 
whom  Captain  Beers  had  seen.  I  was  to  go 
to  Washington  to  see  Mr.  Hay,  Secretary  of 
State,  in  order  to  conclude  the  final  transaction. 

"But  suddenly  the  attitude  of  the  person  who 
was  to  take  me  to  Washington  entirely 
changed. 

"Whenever  I  went  to  see  him,  strict  orders 
had  been  given  to  the  effect  that  he  was  not  in. 
I  had  to  install  myself  in  the  hall,  to  camp 
there,  and,  so  to  speak,  besiege  his  office. 
Nothing  resulted  from  it.  And  there  I  am. 
All  is  lost.  At  any  moment  the  conspiracy 
may  be  discovered  and  my  friends  judged,  sen- 
tenced to  death,  and  their  property  confis- 
cated. *  *  *  " 

And  the  older  man  stopped  speaking,  nearly 
choked  by  his  intense  emotion. 

*T)r.  Amador,"  said  the  Frenchman,  "you 
are  telling  me  a  very  sad  story,  but  why  did 
you  withhold  the  name  of  the  man  who  thus 

f 


m  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     233 

promised  the  gold  of  the  American  Treasury, 
the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States? 
This  childish  proposition  bears  the  stamp  of 
the  man  who  formulated  it.  *  *  *  What,  you 
believed  in  such  empty  talk?  It  is  an  unpar- 
donable folly.  With  your  imprudence  ydu 
have  indeed  brought  yourself  to  a  pretty  pass." 

"Alas!"  said  Amador,  "if  we  had  been  only 
dropped,  but  the  case  is  much  worse."  And 
he  went  on  to  tell  how  this  man  had  been 
warned  that  their  messages  were  being  inter- 
cepted but  had  failed  to  tell  Amador.  Con- 
cluded the  unhappy  filibuster,  "I  have  been 
thus  exposed  unwittingly  to  the  danger  of  giv- 
ing up  my  friends  to  death.  *  *  *  " 

In  saying  this,  the  old  doctor  could  scarcely 
master  his  intense  exasperation. 

"Calm  yourself,  my  poor  Doctor,  you  are 
the  victim  of  your  own  heedlessness.  *  *  * 
Tell  me  what  are  your  hopes  and  on  what  are 
based  your  chances  of  success.  TeU  me 
calmly,  methodically,  precisely." 

These  words  soothed  the  exasperation  of 


234        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Amador.  He  remained  some  minutes  before 
recovering  his  sang-froid.  Then  he  continued 
in  the  following  terms : 

*' There  is  to-day  only  a  weak  Colombian  gar- 
rison at  Panama.  *  *  *  A  revolution  would 
to-day  meet  with  no  obstacles.  But  the  Co- 
lombians have  the  command  of  the  sea;  their 
ships'  crews  are  loyal.  We  must  first,  there- 
fore, acquire  a  fleet  to  prevent  Colombia  from 
overwhelming  with  her  troops  the  province  of 
Panama. 

"Besides  that  we  want  arms.  It  was  to  ob- 
tain ships  and  arms  that  I  have  come  here. 
Our  first  envoy,  Captain  Beers,  had  been  as- 
sured, and  the  same  pledge  was  repeated  to  me 
when  I  came,  that  the  United  States  would  give 
us  all  the  money  we  needed  to  buy  arms  and 
ships  and  to  pay  the  troops." 

"How  big  a  sum  do  you  consider  neces- 


sary?' 


'We  need  $6,000,000." 

'My  dear  Doctor,"  answered  Bunau-Varilla, 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    235 

"you  have  exposed  the  situation  to  me  and  you 
come  to  ask  for  advice.  I  answer:  Let  me 
think  it  over.  At  first  glance  I  see  no  way  out 
of  the  labyrinth  which  imprisons  you.  To- 
morrow perhaps  I  shall  find  one.  At  any  rate 
you  ask  for  advice.  I  give  it  to  you;  remain 
here,  and  wait  patiently  until  I  see  how  the 
land  lies.  *  *  *  I  have  not  only  to  think  my- 
self, but  to  find  out  as  well  what  others  think  in 
order  to  get  you  out  of  the  difficulty.  *  *  *  In 
f  the  meanwhile,  remain,  and  see  nobody.  If 
you  want  to  speak  to  me  over  the  'phone  take 
the  name  of  Smith.  I  shall  take  that  of 
Jones." 

And  with  these  words,  Bunau-Varilla  de- 
parted. He  went  to  solve  a  problem  perplex- 
ing others  greater  than  Amador.  The  fate  of 
the  great  ship  canal,  and  the  future  perhaps  of 
more  than  one  country,  hung  upon  the  solution 
of  this  problem.  It  was  at  that  moment  the 
subject  of  grave  concern  to  Theodore  Roose- 
velt, President  of  the  United  States,  to  the 


236        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Foreign  OflSce  in  France,  to  the  merchants  of 
the  world,  to  the  court  of  Tokio,  as  well  as 
the  blackmail  senate  in  Bogota  and  the  Demo- 
cratic opposition  in  the  coming  election. 

This  delicate  diplomatic  situation  was  the 
result  of  an  unusual  series  of  events. 

In  1876  the  great  French  engineer,  Count 
Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  had  formed  a  company 
which  had  purchased  from  Colombia  the  con- 
cession to  build  a  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama.  Facing  the  jeers  of  a  sceptical 
world,  unparalleled  physical  difficulties,  and 
the  scourge  of  a  fever  more  dreadful  than  war, 
an  army  of  intrepid  and  loyal  Frenchmen  had 
struggled  at  the  task  for  eight  years.  They 
laboured  in  the  face  of  insuperable  obstacles 
and  almost  certain  death,  encouraged  by  the 
ardour  of  adding  this  gigantic  project  to  the 
glory  and  fame  of  their  native  land.  This 
magnificent  attribute,  devotion  to  country,  the 
secret  of  the  splendour  and  power  of  France, 
was  in  this  case  unequal  to  the  task  of  combat- 
ting the  national  weakness — a  love  of  intrigue 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    237 

and  scandal.  Politics  got  hold  of  the  propo- 
sition, and  there  ensued  a  carnival  of  calumnies 
and  canards,  epithets  and  recriminations  the 
like  of  which  has  hardly  a  parallel. 

The  company  went  into  bankruptcy;  slander 
and  defamation  tied  the  hands  of  the  great 
engineer,  and  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
citizens  who  had  invested  in  the  great  patriotic 
enterprise  were  left  without  a  friend  in  the  gov- 
ernment or  banking  interests  of  France.  Of 
the  great  army  of  engineers  and  financiers, 
dreamers  and  adventurers  that  began  the  great 
enterprise,  one  only  remained,  still  firm  in  his 
intention  to  build  this  canal  and  vindicate  his 
chief  and  his  comrades,  and  give  lustre  to  the 
genius  of  France. 

His  name  was  PhiUppe  Bunau-Varilla,  at 
one  time  chief  engineer  of  the  canal,  and  in  the 
end  the  sole  remaining  champion  of  its  feasibil- 
ity. He  had  no  official  capacity  in  France,  and 
not  even  any  further  connection  with  the 
bankrupt  company.  He  was  obsessed  with  a 
mania  that  the  world  needed  the  canal  and  that 


288        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

France  should  have  the  credit.  Armed  with 
an  indomitable  will,  the  most  exact  mathe- 
matical knowledge  of  eveiy  detail  of  the  work 
and  the  engineering  problems,  and  his  own 
private  fortune,  he  set  out  to  put  it  through. 
Public  opinion,  revolutions,  state  secrets,  the 
sanctity  of  courts  and  cabinets,  the  power  of 
armies,  and  the  destinies  of  peoples  were 
thenceforth  his  tools  and  his  media.  That  the 
Senator  from  Missouri — old  Gum-shoe  Bill 
Stone — should  have  failed  to  recognize  such  a 
personality  and  such  a  conception  is  no  won- 
der. Bill's  reasoning  was  not  so  very  bad. 
He  saw  aWevolution  engineered  in  Panama 
with  a  promptness,  decision,  and  unerring  exe- 
cution never  before  known.  He  concluded 
that  it  was  the  work  of  a  genius.  He  decided 
that  his  great  enemy,  Roosevelt,  was  the  most 
probable  and  convenient,  if  not  the  only  genius 
on  the  boards.  As  we  shall  see,  Roosevelt  had 
no  more  to  do  with  it  than  I  .had. 

Well,  when  the  company  went  into  bank- 
ruptcy, Bunau-Varilla  went  to  Germany  and 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    239 

England  and  Russia.  He  commanded  the  at- 
tention of  czars  and  emperors.  He  hypno- 
tized international  bankers.  He  drew  pictures 
of  national  glory  for  the  chancelleries  of  Eu- 
rope. But  he  could  not  raise  the  Canal  from 
the  dead.  And  then,  when  human  effort 
failed,  fate  gave  him  an  opening.  It  all  came 
about  from  three  things.  > 

1.  The  trip  of  the  Oregon  from  San  Fran- 
cisco to  Santiago  around  Cape  Horn.  ! 

2.  The  eruption  of  Mont  Pelee  and  the 
destruction  of  Saint-Pierre  in  Martinique. 

3.  A  Nicaraguan  one-centavo  postage 
stamp. 

The  race  of  the  Oregon  convinced  the  United 
States  that  national  safety  demanded  an 
Isthmian  canal. 

The  unanimous  opinion  and  prejudice  of 
Congress  and  the  people  in  favour  of  Nica- 
ragua were  shattered  by  the  imminent  danger 
of  earthquakes  brought  home  by  the  Mar- 
tinique disaster.  The  final  argument  that 
Nicaragua  was  not  a  volcanic  country  was  met 


240        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

by  Bunau-Varilla  himself  by  mailing  every 
Senator  a  Nicaraguan  one-centavo  stamp, 
showing  a  picture  of  Momotombo  in  spectacu- 
lar eruption  above  the  very  lake  through  which 
the  canal  was  to  pass. 

This  turned  the  scales  in  favour  of  Panama. 
On  the  19th  of  June,  1902,  the  Spooner  bill 
passed  both  houses...  It  provided  that  a  canal 
should  be  built  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 
on  condition  that  the  French  company  would 
sell  its  interests  and  could  give  a  clear  title,  and 
that  the  Department  of  State  could  make  a 
satisfactory  treaty  with  Colombia. 

The  French  company  agreed  to  sell  for 
$40,000,000. 

After  the  usual  vacillation  and  subterfuges 
M.  Herran,  on  behalf  of  Colombia,  and  John 
Hay,  Secretary  of  State,  signed  a  treaty  which 
was  satisfactory.  It  gave  the  United  States 
control  of  the  Canal  zone,  and  Colombia 
$10,000,000  and  $250,000  a  year. 

All  that  remained  was  for  the  Colombian 
Senate  to  ratify  the  treaty. 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    241 

This  they  were  under  every  moral  obhga- 
tion  to  do.  Colombia  was  ruled  by  a  dictator. 
Under  apprehension  that  the  United  States 
might  build  in  Nicaragua  he  had  made  every 
effort  and  representation  to  obtain  the  treaty. 
He  had  ordered  his  minister  to  grant  every 
privilege  to  the  French  company,  so  that  there 
might  be  no  question  of  their  right  to  transfer 
their  interest,  and  he  had  begun  and  pushed  the 
negotiations.  The  whole  civilized  world  was 
awaiting  a  canal  with  impatience,  and  the  high- 
est reasons  of  state,  including  the  military  pro- 
tection of  the  nation,  demanded  that  a  decision 
be  reached  between  these  two  routes  and  the 
work  begun.  The  Colombian  knew  this  and  . 
obtained  his  treaty  and  ousted  Nicaragua — 
with  the  aid  of  fortune  and  the  unremitting 
campaign  of  Bunau-Varilla.  \ 

But  as  the  treaty  was  signed,  and  all  eyes 
turned  to  Panama,  the  ring  at  Bogota  decided 
not  to  ratify.  Their  dispatches  and  resolu- 
tions show  why,  and  constitute  the  most  monu- 
mentally bare-faced  and  audacious  blackmail    ' 


242        DRAMATIC  MOMEIS^TS 

and  hold-up  ever  attempted  in  daylight  by  any 
civilized  country.  They  proposed  that  the 
price  be  doubled  and  that  the  treaty  should 
wait  until  the  French  concession  should  lapse 
and  then  take  the  French  $40,000,000  for 
themselves.  In  other  words,  purely  and  sim- 
ply, that  they  should  hold  up  one  party  to  the 
agreement,  and  entirely  steal  the  interest  of 
the  other.  That  is  the  whole  case,  completely 
substantiated  by  the  documents,  which  I  would 
give  if  there  were  space.  No  one  who  has  not 
read  them  is  qualified  or  has  a  right  to  discuss 
this  Panama  affair. 

What  should  be  done  under  these  circum- 
stances? Panama  said  Revolution.  Old  Doc- 
tor Amador  had  been  sent  to  get  the  guns. 
He  had  found  bad  counsel,  and  was  inoculated 
with  the  impossible  dream  of  help  from  Wash- 
ington. His  legal  friends  in  New  York  had 
failed  even  to  approach  the  'White  House  with 
the  proposal. 

But  Bunau-Varilla  was  out  to  find  a  plan. 
Cognizant  of  every  detail  of  the  history  of  the 


I 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     243 

regime,  he  knew  that  diplomatically  there  were 
just  three  possibilities: 

One  was  the  adoption  by  the  United  States 
of  the  Nicaragua  route,  and  the  crashing  of  his 
life's  work.  A  second  was  the  Revolution 
whose  dying  hopes  he  now  controlled. 

The  third  was  independent  action  of  the 
United  States  under  an  old  treaty  made  with 
New  Granada,  the  predecessor  of  Colombia, 
in  1848. 

The  essential  points  of  this  treaty  were: 

"1.  The  Government  of  New  Granada  guar- 
antees to  the  United  States  that  the  right  of 
way  or  transit  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 
upon  any  modes  of  communication  that  now 
exist  or  that  may  be  hereafter  constructed,  shall 
be  open  and  free  to  the  government  and  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States." 

The  question  was  whether  this  guarantee  of 
right  of  way  upon  any  mode  of  transit  that 
might  he  hereafter  constructed,  did  not  of  it- 
self justly  and  necessarily  imply  and  include 
the  right  of  construction. 


244        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

Before  he  could  act  he  felt  obliged  to  dis- 
cover which  of  these  plans  the  State  Depart- 
ment had  in  mind.  If  they  had  given  up  Pan- 
ama, all  was  lost  indeed.  Unless  they  would 
instantly  support  a  revolution,  such  a  pro- 
ceeding would  be  suicidal.  If  the  United 
States  proposed  to  take  the  zone  anyway,  the 
Revolution  would  be  superfluous.  Being 
astute  as  well  as  honourable  he  was  aware  that 
under  no  circumstances  could  he  acquire  his  in- 
formation directly,  or  get  the  slightest  assur- 
ance or  encouragement  from  the  government. 
He  had  a  higher  opinion  of  Theodore  Roose- 
velt and  John  Hay  than  many  of  their  coun- 
trymen— ^who  say  that  they  instigated  the  re- 
volt— ^have  since  evinced. 

On  this  impossible  errand  he  went  to  Wash- 
ington. He  paid  a  social  call  upon  the  Hon- 
ourable Francis  B,  Loomis,  Assistant  Secre- 
tary of  State.  He  told  him  that  he  had  re- 
cently taken  an  important  proprietary  interest 
in  the  great  French  newspaper,  Le  Matin, 

"Then  you  ought  to  present  to  the  President 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     245 

the  compliments  of  Le  Matin,  Do  you  know 
Mr.  Roosevelt  personally?" 

"I  have  not  that  honour." 

"The  President  will  be  glad  to  receive  you. 
I  will  go  and  inquire." 

In  a  few  minutes  he  was  in  the  presence 
of  Theodore  Roosevelt.  Bunau-Varilla  says: 
"We  conversed  about  Le  Matin.  I  was  await- 
ing an  opportunity  to  bring  up  the  Panama 
subject,  Mr.  Loomis  having  cited  the  publica- 
tion of  the  famous  bordereau  in  the  Dreyfus 
affair  as  being  among  the  great  achievements 
of  Le  Matin,  I  jumped  at  the  opportunity. 
The  bridge  was  found,  I  crossed  it.  'Mr. 
President,'  I  said,  'Captain  Dreyfus  has  not 
been  the  only  victim  of  detestable  political  pas- 
sions.    Panama  is  another.' 

"  *0h,  yes,'  exclaimed  the  President,  sud- 
denly interested.  'That  is  true.  You  have 
devoted  much  time  and  effort  to  Panama,  Mr. 
Bunau-Varilla.  Well,  what  do  you  think  is 
going  to  be  the  outcome  of  the  present  situa- 
tion?' 


246        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

"It  was  then  or  never.  I  could  by  his  an- 
swer know  exactly  what  the  President  had  in 
mind.  I  remained  silent  for  a  moment,  and 
then  pronounced  the  following  four  words  in 
a  slow,  decided  manner : 

"  *  Mr.  President,  a  revolution.' 

"The  features  of  the  President  manifested 
profound  surprise.  *A  revolution,'  he  re- 
peated, mechanically.  Then  he  turned  in- 
stinctively toward  Mr.  Loomis,  who  remained 
standing,  impassive,  and  he  said  in  a  low  tone, 
as  if  speaking  to  himself: 

"*A  revolution!  *  *  *  Would  it  be  pos- 
sible? *  *  *  But  if  it  became  a  reality,  what 
would  become  of  the  plan  w^e  had  thought 
of?'  *  *  *  He  quickly  recovered  himself,  and 
asked,  *What  makes  you  think  so?'  " 

The  champion  of  the  canal  returned  to  the 
game  by  stating  that  he  had  certain  special  in- 
dications which  led  infallibly  to  that  conclu- 
sion, and  withdrew. 

This  was  all.     Every  word.     And  yet  from 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     247 

this  the  subtle  Frenchman  concluded  that  a 
revolution  would  be  welcome  and  that  the  chief 
magistrate  stood  by  the  Panama  route. 

It  remained  now  for  a  foreigner  in  New 
York  without  boats  or  guns  or  treasury,  with- 
out influence  or  authority,  to  execute  the  coup 
d'etat.  Not  the  least  of  his  difficulties  was  the 
inane,  suspicious,  proud,  vain,  and  vacillating 
character  of  his  revolutionists. 

One  thing  was  certain.  Without  the  con- 
viction that  the  power  of  the  United  States 
was  behind  them,  these  timid  patriots  would  do 
nothing. 

In  his  dilemma  he  recalled  a  scene  enacted 
under  his  eyes  years  before,  when  he  was  at 
work  on  the  Culebra  Cut.  A  religious  civil 
war  had  broken  out  in  Colombia,  and  the  gov- 
ernment had  sent  troops,  to  subdue  revolters 
on  the  Isthmus,  and  a  United  States  cruiser  in 
the  harbour  had  landed  marines,  preventing 
the  landing  of  the  government  troops,  and  all 
fighting.     They  had  done  this  under  the  old 


248        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

treaty,  by  which  the  United  States  under- 
took to  keep  order  and  open  transit  across  the 
Istlimus. 

If  they  would  do  it  then,  why  not  now? 
Anyway,  he  decided  to  stake  everything  upon 
this  probability. 

But  to  reassure  himself  he  went  again  to  the 
State  Department.  Mr.  Loomis  introduced 
him  to  the  Secretary,  John  Hay.  It  was  well 
known  that  this  great  statesman  regarded  the 
completion  of  the  canal  of  transcendant  im- 
portance to  the  world. 

In  discussing  the  matter  Bunau- Varilla  said : 

"^Vhen  all  the  counsels  of  prudence  and 
friendship  have  been  made  in  vain,  there  comes 
a  moment  when  one  has  to  stand  still  and  await 
events." 

"These  events,"  he  asked  the  Secretary, 
"what  do  you  think  they  will  be?" 

"The  whole  thing  will  end  in  a  revolution," 
answered  this  master  of  revolution.  "You 
must  take  your  measures  if  you  do  not  want 
yourself  to  be  taken  by  surprise." 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    249 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Hay,  "that  is  unfortunately 
the  most  probable  hypothesis.  But  we  shall 
not  be  caught  napping.  Orders  have  been 
given  to  naval  forces  on  the  Pacific  to  sail  to- 
ward Panama." 

Prompt,  decisive,  daring  action  followed. 
Within  a  day  this  extraordinary  man  consti- 
tuted himself  the  Jefferson,  the  Washington, 
and  the  Benjamin  Franklin  of  the  new  Re- 
public of  Panama.  He  wrote  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  the  Constitution,  a  method- 
ical plan  of  the  military  operations  to  be  con- 
ducted, complete  details  of  the  three  days'  de- 
fence of  the  Isthmus  which  he  considered 
necessary,  and  a  cipher  code  for  dispatches, 
and  most  important  of  all,  he  prepared  in  ad- 
vance the  exact  cables  to  be  sent  appointing  a 
minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  United  States 
capable  of  the  direct,  reliable,  and  prompt  ac- 
tion necessary  to  satisfy  this  exasperated  coim- 
try.  None  other  in  fact  than  Philippe  Bunau- 
Varilla.     It  was  magnificent. 


( 


250        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

With  these  exhibits  complete,  and  a  flag  de- 
vised for  the  occasion  by  Madame,  he  repaired 
again  to  the  Liberty  Hall  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama — to  wit,  room  1162  Waldorf  Astoria 
Hotel. 

There  like  a  Napoleon  he  issued  orders  to 
the  astonished  conspirator.  "Dr.  Amador,  the 
moment  has  come  to  clear  the  deck  for  action. 
Be  satisfied  with  my  assertions.  There  is  no 
more  time  for  discussing  their  genesis. 

"I  can  give  you  assurance  that  you  will  be 
protected  by  the  American  forces  forty-eight 
hours  after  you  have  proclaimed  the  new  Re- 
public in  the  whole  Isthmus. 

"Then  will  begin  a  delicate  period,  that  of 
the  complete  recognition  of  the  new  Republic. 
The  fight  will  be  in  Washington.  I  take  the 
responsibility  of  it.  I  take  also  the  responsi- 
bility of  obtaining  for  you,  from  a  bank,  or  of 
furnishing  you  myself,  the  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  which  are  necessary  to  you." 

So  Amador  sailed  with  injunction  to  have 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    251 

the  Declaration  of  Independence  issued  and  a 
government  in  being  by  the  3rd  of  November 
— five  days  after  his  landing.  And  not  only 
with  everything  prepared  to  the  last  detail, 
but  with  the  text  of  the  telegram  he  was  to  send 
announcing  the  new  government  and  appoint- 
ing Bunau-Varilla  minister  plenipotentiary  to 
the  United  States  with  unlimited  authority  to 
negotiate  a  concession  for  the  canal.  And 
most  important  of  all,  with  the  firm  conviction 
that  this  masterful  Frenchman  had  at  his  com- 
mand the  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
unbounded  power  and  authority  of  Richelieu 
of  old. 

This  last  delusion  proved  the  crux  of  the 
whole  affair.  For  no  sooner  had  the  excited 
doctor  arrived  than  the  conspirators  demanded 
proof.  "If  Bunau-Varilla  is  so  powerful,  let 
him  prove  it.  He  says  we  shall  be  protected 
forty-eight  hours  after  establishing  the  new 
Republic.  Well?  We  will  believe  him  if  he 
is  capable  of  sending  an  American  man  of  war 


252        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

to  Colon  at  our  request."  So  they  wired  that 
the  Colombian  troops  were  arriving  in  five  days 
and  asked  for  the  warship. 

So  it  was  up  to  this  ingenious  man  to  send 
a  warship  or  to  make  them  think  he  sent  it. 
He  boarded  the  train  for  Washington.  He 
went  to  see  every  secretary,  senator,  and  gossip 
he  knew  or  could  get  access  to,  including 
Loomis.     To  all  he  said  the  same  thing. 

"Remember  the  date  of  November  3,  1903. 
That  day  will  behold  a  repetition  of  what  hap- 
pened there  on  the  1st  of  April,  1885.  The 
armed  conflict  which  will  be  the  cause  of  it  is 
expected  everywhere.  It  is  spoken  of  publicly 
in  the  press.  The  only  difference  between 
1885  and  1903  is  that  the  blame  will  not  be  at- 
tributed to  the  captain  of  a  man  of  war  in  the 
waters  of  Colon.  It  will  rest  on  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  itself." 

If  the  papers  were  not  full  of  it  before,  they 
certainly  were  after  this  announcement. 

So  both  ends  were  played  against  the  middle. 
There  could  be  no  revolution  without  a  war* 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     253 

ship.  Also,  there  could  be  no  warship  without 
a  revolution.  Very  well,  the  United  States 
had  been  sufficiently  informed  that  there  was 
going  to  be  a  riot  on  Nevember  3rd.  That 
being  the  case,  undoubtedly  they  would  send 
the  ships.  It  remained  to  use  this  fact  to  its 
limit  to  encourage  the  juntas  and  convince 
them  that  they  were  in  the  hands  of  a  great 
power. 

Bunau- Varilla  planned  to  leave  them  in  their 
delusion.  He  looked  up  the  position  of  the 
navy.  The  Nashville  was  at  Kingston.  He 
felt  sure  it  would  be  ordered  to  Colon.  It 
would  take  two  days  and  a  half  to  get  there. 
It  was  now  the  29th  of  October.  He  cabled 
Amador  in  his  code. 

"All  right.  Will  reach  two  days  and  a 
half." 

They  imderstood  this  to  mean  that  he  had 
ordered  a  warship  to  their  assistance  that  would 
arrive  in  two  days  and  a  half. 

This  was  one  of  the  greatest  impudences  and 
most  splendid  bluffs  ever  made  by  a  private  in- 


254        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

dividual  in  international  affairs.  It  was 
worthy  of  Athos  at  his  best. 

The  news  was  spread  over  the  whole  town 
of  Colon  that  at  Bunau-Varilla's  request  the 
Americans  were  coming  to  protect  Panama. 
On  the  morning  of  Nov.  2nd  the  entire  popula- 
tion was  scanning  the  sea  in  doubt  and  curi- 
osity. As  the  hours  passed,  disappointment 
and  chagrin  clouded  their  hearts.  By  night, 
they  were  in  despair.  When  lo !  Smoke  was 
descried  on  the  horizon.  Miracle  of  miracles, 
— amid  a  burst  of  "delirious  enthusiasm"  the 
Nashville  sailed  into  the  harbour  with  the  Star- 
Spangled  Banner  floating  in  the  breeze. 

And  sitting  in  the  Waldorf  Astoria  the 
manipulator  of  events,  this  maker  of  diplomacy 
by  induction  and  mathematics,  received  the 
fateful  telegram : 

"Independence  of  the  Isthmus  proclaimed 
without  bloodshed. 

"Amadoh." 

The  Colombian  troops  arrived  all  right  and 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     255 

fell  into  the  popular  delusion  upon  sight  of 
the  American  flag.  They  threatened  to  shoot 
every  American  in  the  vicinity.  The  com- 
mander of  the  Nashville,  neither  knowing  nor 
caring  about  these  plots  and  delusions,  landed 
his  marines  as  he  v^as  accustomed  to  do  when  \ 
riot  seemed  impending  and  before  what  ap- 
peared the  armed  intervention  of  the  United 
States,  the   Colombians  withdrew.     Panama     . 

was  a  free  and  independent  Republic.         "^^ 

In  the  entire  history  of  our  diplomacy  there 
is  no  finer  example  of  the  power  and  success  of 
quick  and  drastic  measures  than  that  now  taken 
by  Theodore  Roosevelt.  Nicaraguans,  peace 
cranks,  sentimental  adherents  of  Colombia,  old 
line  pohtical  opponents,  were  lining  up  for  ten 
years  more  of  harangue  and  argument,  and  the 
Colombian  cable  began  frantically  to  offer  any- 
thing on  earth  to  get  back  into  the  running. 
Roosevelt  says  he  took  the  Canal.  It  must 
have  been  with  peculiar  pleasure  that  within 
a  week  after  the  events  recounted  he  received 
M.  Bunau-Varilla  in  state  at  the  White  House 


256        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

as  the  accredited  minister  plenipotentiary  from 
the  now  fully  recognized  Republic  of  Panama. 

No  two  men  ever  worked  with  greater  har- 
mony and  dispatch  than  this  astonishing  am- 
bassador and  John  Hay.  Another  grave  dan- 
ger was  impending.  Panama  was  sending 
two  of  its  bombastic  citizens  to  haggle  and  de- 
bate and  parade  their  importance  at  Wash- 
ington. After  their  arrival  all  accomplish- 
ment would  have  been  at  the  mercy  of  endless 
conversation  and  formal  trivialities. 

Success  in  the  consummation  of  the  treaty 
depended  upon  rapidity  of  movement. 

On  Sunday,  Nov.  15th,  John  Hay  wrote  to 
Bunau-Varilla : 

"Dear  Mr.  Minister:  I  enclose  a  project 
of  a  Treaty.  Please  return  it  to  me  with  your 
suggestions  at  your  earliest  convenience." 

The  sequel  might  be  a  lesson  to  all  the  for- 
eign offices  and  ambassadors  in  the  world.  It 
is  a  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  two  capable 
and  fair-minded  men  can  come  to  an  interna- 
tional agreement  without  interminable  formal- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     257 

ity  and  conventions,  proposals  and  counter 
proposals.  That  where  both  parties  honestly 
and  earnestly  desire  justice  for  the  other,  as 
well  as  themselves,  and  are  not  burdened  with 
the  dead  wood  of  precedent  and  the  desire  for 
some  concealed  advantage,  they  can  reach  a 
satisfactory  conclusion  in  an  incredibly  short 
time. 

Bunau- Varilla,  a  Frenchman,  whose  life  had 
been  dedicated  to  this  international  canal,  sat 
down  that  very  day  with  the  Hay-Pauncefote 
treaty  between  England  and  America,  the  old 
treaty  with  Colombia,  his  instructions  from 
Panama,  and  his  sense  of  fair  play,  and  wrote 
a  document  which  was  not  only  satisfactory  to 
John  Hay,  but  to  the  suspicious  Panamanians 
and  to  the  hostile  senate  and  posterity.  He 
sent  it  to  the  Secretary  of  State  saying  it  was 
his  suggestion. 

On  the  18th  he  received  this  short  summons: 

*'Will  you  kindly  call  at  my  house  at  six  o'clock 
to-day? 

"John  Hay." 


258        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

The  newspaper  reporters  were  at  the  door. 
They  had  seen  the  head  of  the  Treaties  Bureau 
go  in,  and  were  expecting  an  historical  event. 

The  Hay-Bunau-Varilla  treaty  was  signed 
within  a  few  minutes,  just  fifteen  days  after 
the  birth  of  the  new  nation.  It  is  recorded  that 
the  minister  sealed  the  bond  with  John  Hay's 
signet  ring. 

It  gave  the  United  States  the  use,  occupa- 
tion, and  control  of  the  canal  zone  in  perpetuity 
for  $10,000,000. 

/Next  morning  the  committee  arrived  from 
Panama  to  palaver.     It  was  too  late. 

On  the  following  day  General  Reyes  arrived 
from  Colombia  to  intrigue.     It  was  too  late. 

Prompt  decisive  action  had  at  last  given  the 
United  States  an  essential  military  control  over 
its  own  waters,  and  the  world  the  prospect  of 
an  inestimable  boon. 

Moreover  it  had  saved  the  country  from  a 
most  embarrassing  position  it  would  have  been 
in  toward  the  French  Republic.  No  one  knew 
better  than  Roosevelt  that  France  could  not 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     259 

stand  by  idle  and  allow  Colombia  to  plunder 
her  citizens  out  of  a  life's  work  and  sacrifice, 
and  $40,000,000  in  cold  cash ;  and  yet,  any  ac- 
tion that  France  could  have  taken  to  prevent 
such  a  solution  would  have  constituted  a  most 
imwelcome  challenge  to  the  American  Doc- 
trine of  Monroe. 

Without  reserve  it  is  our  pleasure  to  give 
first  prize  for  the  conception  and  initiative  in 
this  great  enterprise  to  France.  For  the  exe- 
cution of  the  most  successful  revolution  on  rec- 
ord, we  recommend  Bunau-Varilla,  who  has 
since  received  the  decoration  of  the  Legion  of 
Honour  for  conspicuous  bravery  on  the  firing 
line  at  Verdun  where  he  lost  a  leg.  The  ulti- 
mate responsible  action  stands  to  the  everlast- 
ing credit  of  Theodore  Roosevelt, 


CHAPTER  POXTRTEEN 

SOME  LESSONS  IN  CIVILITY 

Premonitions — The  King  of  Prussia's  Precious  Doc- 
trines in  1823 — The  Oppressed  Revolutionists  of 
Germany — Debut  of  the  Prussian  Bully  in  Samoa — 
The  Emperor's  Fatal  Birthday — The  Advent  of  the 
Famous  Formula:  "Impossible  Ultimatum,  Instant 
Defensive  Invasion  and  Annexation" — Leary  of  the 
Adams  Takes  a  Hand — Schrecklichkeit  Foiled  by  a 
Hurricane — "The  Organization  of  Failure  in  the 
Midst  of  Hate"— Why  the  Kaiser  Did  Not  Take 
Uncle  Sam  by  "The  Scruff  of  the  Neck"— "If  You 
Want  a  Fight,  You  Can  Have  It  Now" — Roosevelt 
Calls  the  Teuton  Bluff — A  Case  of  Arbitration — 
Designs  on  the  Caribbean — An  Opinion  by  John  Hay. 

A  SURVEY  of  the  actions  of  the  Im- 
perial German  Government  which 
are  the  basis  of  the  deep-seated  con- 
viction of  our  Department  of  State  that  the 
HohenzoUern  dynasty  has  far-reaching  de- 
signs upon  the  integrity  of  American  soil  and 
the  inviolability  of  the  "American  System"  re- 

260 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS         261 

veals  that  they  date  from  the  decision  of  the 
Kaiser  to  drop  Bismarck,  the  great  pilot.  The 
Iron  Chancellor  developed  to  its  deadly  con- 
clusion the  brutal  policy  of  the  Great  Fred- 
erick, and  deserves  the  lion's  share  of  the  dis- 
credit for  the  fatal  ambition  for  conquest  and 
dominion  that  has  undermined  the  Teutonic 
character.  But  since  his  designs  were  defi- 
nitely confined  to  other  spheres  they  gave  the 
United  States  no  cause  for  alarm.  In  fact, 
up  to  that  time  our  experience  with  the  Ger- 
man people  had  been  the  reverse  of  suspicious. 
The  country  had  welcomed  great  numbers  of 
them,  whom,  even  in  the  passions  of  to-day, 
no  one  can  accuse  of  being  advocates  of  blood 
and  iron  militarism  run  a-muck,  or  aspirants 
for  the  first  tier  of  boxes  in  the  sun.  They 
were  revolters  against  regal  prerogative,  and 
came  in  the  name  of  Liberty  and  joined  the 
ranks  of  the  Union  forces  in  the  Civil  War  for 
emancipation.  The  consequence  was  that  our 
assumption  was  heavily  in  favour  of  the  Ger- 
man a  decade  ago. 


262        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

The  first  sign  we  had  that  a  "superman"  was 
being  evolved  contained  little  portent  of  dan- 
ger to  the  continent  we  guard  so  jealously. 
But  it  aroused  in  America  a  sudden  realization 
of  an  important  event — the  arrival  of  a  new  and 
particularly  disgusting  character  on  the  inter- 
national stage.  It  was  the  dehut  in  Washing- 
ton of  the  Prussian  bully.  He  was  discovered 
swaggering  insolently  down  the  shores  of  the 
Pacific,  twirling  his  mustachios  and  kicking 
the  pedestrians  in  the  selfsame  manner  so 
familiar  on  the  sidewalks  of  Potsdam. 

It  happened  in  Samoa.  The  Samoans  were 
a  picturesque,  comely  and  gentle  people,  whose 
sole  faults  were  a  childish  irresponsibility 
in  regard  to  their  neighbours'  cocoanuts 
and  an  inherent  inability  to  determine  who 
should  be  king.  A  short  time  previously  the 
consuls  of  England,  the  United  States  and 
Germany  had  settled  a  difference  of  opinion 
by  making  one  rival  claimant,  Malietoa 
Laupepa,  king,  and  another,  Tamasese,  vice- 
king.    Thus  as  Stevenson  says :  **in  addition  to 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    263 

the  old  conundrum,  Who  is  the  King?'  they 
had  supplied  a  new  one,  *What  is  a  vice-king?'  " 

Malietoa  Laupepa  was  a  very  kindly,  trust- 
ing, high-minded  old  fellow,  whose  mild  and 
gentle  disposition  made  him  an  easy  mark  for 
the  preliminary  canters  of  frightfulness.  His 
rule  at  most  was  only  nominal  as  far  as  Euro- 
pean interests  were  concerned.  The  three  con- 
suls presided  over  a  neutral  territory  about  the 
port  of  Apia,  and  acted  as  an  advisory  board 
for  the  monarch. 

There  had  been  some  trouble  due  to  petty 
thefts  from  the  plantation  of  a  German  firm. 
This  firm  was  presided  over  at  the  time  by 
Captain  Brandeis,  an  artillery  officer  whose 
warlike  intentions  and  predilections  were  so 
sedulously  concealed  that  he  pretended  to  be  a 
mere  clerk  in  the  office.  The  Germans  had  in- 
sisted upon  putting  the  thieves  in  a  private 
jail  of  their  own,  and  exacting  from  the  help- 
less old  king  satisfaction  of  a  nature  so  drastic 
as  to  bring  forth  violent  protests  from  the 
English  and  American  consuls.     The  matter 


264        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

had  been  made  the  subject  of  an  international 
conference  in  Washington,  which  adjourned 
on  July  26, 1885.  It  was  understood  that  this 
adjournment  was  for  the  consuls  to  get  fur- 
ther instructions  from  home  and  in  the  mean- 
time that  no  action  should  be  taken  by  any 
government. 

Nevertheless  pretty  soon  the  port  of  Apia 
began  to  resemble  a  royal  review  at  Willielms- 
haven.  The  King  was  in  the  interior,  the  petty 
thieves  were  in  jail,  and  the  island  was  as  quiet 
and  dreamy  as  a  picture  of  Heaven.  By  the 
end  of  August,  1887,  there  were  five  German 
ships  of  war  in  the  obscure  little  bay.  Robert 
Louis  Stevenson  thus  describes  the  subsequent 
amazing  proceedings : 

"They  waited  inactive,  as  a  burglar  waits  till 
the  patrol  goes  by,  and  on  the  23d,  when  the 
mail  had  left  for  Sydney,  when  the  eyes  of  the 
world  were  withdrawn,  and  Samoa  plunged 
again  for  a  period  of  weeks  into  her  original 
island  obscurity,  Becker  opened  his  guns. 
[Becker  was  the  German  Consul.]     The  pol- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    265 

icy  was  too  cunning  to  seem  dignified.  *  *  * 
and  helped  shake  men's  reliance  on  the  word 
of  Germany.  On  the  day  named,  an  ulti- 
matum reached  Malietoa  at  Afenga,  whither 
he  had  retired  months  before  to  avoid  friction. 
A  fine  of  one  thousand  dollars  and  an  ifo^  or 
public  humiliation,  were  demanded  for  the  af- 
fair of  the  Emperor's  birthday.  Twelve  thou- 
sand dollars  were  to  be  'paid  quickly'  for  thefts 
from  German  plantations  in  the  course  of  the 
last  four  years."  Becker  concluded  by  saying 
he  would  be  at  Afenga  next  morning  at  11 
o'clock. 

This  was  the  same  old  game,  then  new  to  us, 
cropping  up  in  the  South  Seas — an  outrageous 
demand,  coupled  with  an  explosive  ultimatum 
attached  to  a  short-timed  fuse. 

The  thefts  were  negligible  and  had  been  set- 
tled already.  The  only  new  matter  was  this 
terrible  "affair  of  the  Emperor's  birthday." 

Let  us  look  into  it.  On  March  22d,  which 
was  undoubtedly  the  birthday  of  the  Emperor, 
some  Germans  assembled  in  a  public  bar  in  the 


266        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

neutral  territory  of  Apia.  Much  drinking  and 
*'hochmg''  finally  resulted  in  a  "squabble"  with 
some  other  convivialists,  ending  in  what  Becker 
called  a  riot.  For  this,  four  natives  were  ar- 
rested, and  haled  before  a  German  magistrate. 
He  acquitted  one  of  these.  The  others  he 
convicted  of  assault.  The  case  was  appealed 
to  the  full  court — that  is,  the  three  consuls  to- 
gether. The  American  and  British  consuls 
considered  the  charges  petty  and  unproved  and 
reversed  the  decision.  And  that  was  the  whole 
business  called  by  the  German  Commander 
"The  trampling  upon,  by  Malietoa,  of  the  Ger- 
man Emperor."  It  was  not  even  mentioned 
three  months  later  in  the  conference  between 
the  three  nations  at  Washington. 

At  11  A.  M.  Becker  was  at  the  place  named. 
The  King  asked  for  a  day's  delay  to  consider. 
Becker  declared  war  on  the  spot,  appointed  the 
bewildered  Tamasese  King  under  the  super- 
vision and  protection  of  the  redoubtable  Bran- 
deis  and  the  five  warships,  ran  the  German  flag 
over  his  headquarters,  and  declared  his  juris- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    267 

diction  over  the  whole  works,  including  the 
neutral  territory.  He  seized  the  harmless  old 
King  of  Samoa  and  shipped  him  off  a  prisoner 
to  Germany.  The  poor  fellow  appealed  in 
vain  to  the  justice  of  heaven  and  the  protec- 
tion of  the  consuls. 

But  in  Washington  the  affair  was  not  so 
lightly  regarded.  It  constituted  a  breach  of 
faith  almost  inconceivable  to  them  and  the  pre- 
text was  as  stupid  as  it  was  brazen.  To  begin 
with,  that  the  Kaiser  was  such  a  holy  idol  that 
any  disturbance  upon  his  birthday  in  any  part 
of  the  earth  was  sacrilege  and  Use  majeste  was 
a  novel  and  startling  discovery.  That  the 
King  of  Samoa  lying  under  the  palms  fifty 
miles  away  could  be  responsible  for  a  tavern 
brawl  in  a  neutral  seaport,  distinctly  outside 
his  jurisdiction,  and  distinctly  inside  of  that  of 
the  three  consuls — a  neutrality  which  the  Sa- 
moans  scrupulously  observed  even  in  the  midst 
of  war — was  too  much  for  the  world  to  swallow. 

The  American  and  British  consuls  refused  to 
recognize  the  new  king,  or  the  German  juris- 


268        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

diction.  The  islanders  rose  under  another 
leader,  a  romantic  and  Herculean  youth  named 
Mataafa,  and  war  broke  loose.  The  Germans, 
believing  the  situation  in  hand,  let  some  of  their 
ships  go.  The  Americans  believing  other- 
wise dispatched  Captain  Leary,  a  belligerent 
and  humorous  Irishman,  to  the  scene  with  the 
Adams, 

The  Germans  now  considered  that  they 
owned  the  islands,  and  they  set  out  to  quell 
"the  rebels" — that  is,  the  Samoans.  They 
sailed  down  the  coast  to  bombard  the  villages. 
Leary  stuck  by  his  guns.  He  refused  to  recog- 
nize either  the  Germans  or  Tamasese.  He  got 
between  the  Germans  and  their  targets.  He 
was  certainly  guilty  of  Use  majeste  himself. 

The  affair  got  worse.  The  Germans  tried 
to  storm  the  Samoan  camp  and  were  repulsed 
with  great  loss.  In  a  fury,  they  then  declared 
martial  law,  with  edicts  prophetic  of  later  days. 
"The  crime  of  inciting  German  troops  by  any 
means,  as,  for  instance,  informing  them  of 
proclamations  by  the  enemy,  was  punishable 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    269 

with  death;  that  of  publishing  or  secretly  dis- 
tributing anything,  whether  printed  or  writ- 
ten, bearing  on  the  war,  and  that  of  calling  or 
attending  a  public  meeting,  unless  permitted, 
with  prison  or  deportation."  These  rules  they 
declared  applied  to  Americans  and  English  as 
well  as  natives,  including  the  consuls. 

The  British  consul  flung  back  a  flat  defiance 
and  three  American  warships  arrived  very 
quickly  under  Captain  Hand  to  discuss  the 
affair.  What  the  end  might  have  been,  no- 
body knows.  For  a  while  the  brokers  on 
'change  were  watching  the  tickers  in  New 
York  and  London  for  news  of  the  first  shot 
meaning  war,  when  a  hurricane  came  out  of 
the  West  and  threw  practically  the  whole  flo- 
tilla in  splinters  on  the  beach,  and  Bismarck 
was  put  to  the  necessity  of  disavowing  the 
whole  game.  Still  there  is  no  record  of  iron 
crosses  being  distributed  to  the  warriors  of  the 
chivalrous  Mataafa,  who,  when  they  saw  their 
enemies  drowning  before  their  eyes,  plunged 
in  and  saved  them  by  the  hundred. 


270        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

But  he  could  not  withdraw  object  lesson 
number  one,  of  which  Stevenson  said  "the 
German  breach  of  faith  was  public  and  ex- 
press ;  it  must  have  been  deliberately  premedi- 
tated: and  it  was  resented  in  the  States  as  a 
deliberate  insult."  And  caused  him  to  make 
further  remarks  which,  if  taken  to  heart  in 
Berlin,  would  have  saved  a  world  of  trouble. 
One  was  with  regard  to  the  German  consul: 
"If  the  object  of  diplomacy  be  the  organiza- 
tion of  failure  in  the  midst  of  hate,  he  was  a 
great  diplomatist." 

The  other  was  equally  penetrating: 

"The  German  flag  might  wave  over  her  puppet 
unquestioned,  but  there  is  a  law  of  human  nature 
which  diplomatists  should  be  taught  at  school,  and 
it  seems  they  are  not:  that  men  can  tolerate  base 
injustice,  but  not  the  combination  of  injustice  and 
subterfuge.  Hence  the  chequered  career  of  the 
thimble-rigger." 

The  second  warning  the  United  States  re- 
ceived of  German  ambitions  was  more  direct 
and  more  dangerous.  It  recalled  the  archaic 
but  more  frank  declaration  of  the  regal  combi- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    271 

nation  of  1823,  when  the  King  of  Prussia  had 
joined  with  the  Emperors  of  Europe  for  the 
avowed  purpose  of  suppressing  all  republics 
in  general,  and  those  in  South  America  in  par- 
ticular. That  "convention"  we  never  held  up 
against  the  Kaiser,  because  it  was  an  insanity- 
prevalent  at  the  time  in  all  Europe,  and  the 
natural  hang-over  from  the  era  of  absolute 
monarchs  from  which  that  continent  was  just 
emerging.  But  the  year  1898  was  an  entirely- 
different  matter. 

William  McKinley  had  determined  to  recog- 
nize and  establish  the  independence  of  the 
island  of  Cuba.  For  a  century-  the  Royal 
Spanish  Government  had  failed  to  produce 
anything  there  except  riot,  anarchy,  misery, 
and  confusion.  War  was  impending.  This 
appeared  to  the  councils  of  Potsdam  to  be  an 
opportune  moment  to  assert  themselves,  and 
to  acquaint  the  world  with  three  or  four  self- 
evident  but  neglected  facts.  One  was  that  the 
pretention  of  the  United  States  that  affairs  in 
America  were  her  sole  concern  was  an  imperti- 


272        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

nence  and  a  dead  letter,  not  to  be  recognized  by 
an   omnipotent   sovereign   holding   dominion 
imder  high  heaven;  another  was  that  a  "de- 
bating society,"  that  ridiculous  form  of  gov- 
ernment, a  democracy,  which  by  its  very  exist- 
ence was  an   insult  to  Majesty,  should  be 
taught  the  respect  due  a  legitimate  queen- 
regent.    And  the  third  was  the  familiar  axiom 
that  no  affair  of  importance  should  be  under- 
taken anywhere  in  the  world  without  consult- 
ing the  German  Army  and  the  German  Kaiser. 
So  it  is  reliably  reported  that  Von  Holle- 
ben,  the  German  Ambassador,  and  Von  Hen- 
gelmiiller,  his  Austrian  understudy,  convened 
the  Diplomatic  Corps  in  Washington  under 
instructions  from  Berlin  to  havx  the  Yankees 
presented  with  an  order  beginning  and  ending 
with  the  single  word  "Verboten'*    This  pro- 
gram would  have  been  carried  through,  and 
the  rough-riders  have  found  themselves  con- 
fronted with  an  entirely  different  proposition, 
except  for  one  obstacle — a  constant  and  obsti- 
nate obstacle,  beginning  even  then  to  be  re- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY     273 

garded  by  the  Kaiser  as  the  one  fountain  of  all 
evil  and  sacrilege  in  the  world — to-wit,  the 
navy  of  England.  Sir  Julian  Pauncefote  in- 
sisted that  England  could  make  no  such  ar- 
rangement— must  be  left  free  to  act  as  circum- 
stances might  dictate.  Feeling  pretty  sure 
that  these  circumstances  would  dictate  an  un- 
expected visit  to  Heligoland  in  case  the  Ger- 
man fleet  happened  to  be  out  chastising  the 
shade  of  the  immortal  Monroe,  the  meeting 
concluded  to  confine  their  offices  to  a  polite  re- 
monstrance, which  was  reported  in  an  article 
in  the  World's  Work  in  this  wise: 

"Said  the  six  ambassadors:  *We  hope  for 
humanity's  sake  that  you  will  not  go  to  war.' 
Said  Mr.  McKinley,  in  reply :  *  We  hope  if  we 
do  go  to  war  that  you  will  understand  that  it  is 
for  himianity's  sake.'  The  best  evidence  of 
how  this  conclusion  satisfied  the  Kaiser  is  con- 
tained in  his  own  words :  *If  I  had  only  had  a 
fleet,  I  would  have  taken  Uncle  Sam  by  the 
scruff  of  the  neck.'  " 

But  the  Kaiser's  last  card  had  not  yet  been 


274        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

played.  He  did  have  a  formidable  squadron 
in  Asiatic  waters,  with  instructions  which  can 
only  be  guessed  at,  but  from  subsequent  pro- 
ceedings pretty  well  imagined.  Admiral  Von 
Diederichs  headed  this  squadron  toManila,  and 
began  his  pleasantries  shortly  after  the  defeat 
of  the  Spanish  Navy  there.  Admiral  Dewey, 
the  soul  of  naval  etiquette,  but  no  Pohsh  peas- 
ant, was  at  first  unable  to  understand  manoeuv- 
res originating  in  the  conception  that  the  Kais- 
er's orders  were  sufficient  reason  for  any  action 
on  earth.  Dewey  was  blockading  the  harbour 
and,  by  the  rules  of  the  sea,  as  well  as  by  the 
estabhshed  code  of  International  Law,  no  ves- 
sels of  any  kind  could  enter  except  by  his 
permission.  Von  Diederichs  sailed  the  Irene  in 
without  as  much  as  "with  your  leave."  Dewey 
knew  he  was  discourteous,  but  supposed  he  was 
ignorant.  However,  when  the  Cormoran  fol- 
lowed suit,  the  Admiral  brought  her  to  with 
soUd  shot  across  the  bow,  and  then  pretty  soon 
the  premeditation  behind  this  affair  began  to 
develop.    Dewey  casually  mentioned  that  it 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    275 

was  hardly  customary  for  a  friendly  squadron 
visiting  a  blockaded  port  on  the  eve  of  hostili- 
ties to  come  in  force  greater  than  the  blockader 
commanded.  Von  Diederichs  haughtily  replied 
that  such  were  the  Kaiser's  orders. 

Doubtless  it  was  also  the  Kaiser's  orders 
which  induced  the  German  sailor  to  threaten 
the  Philippine  auxiliaries  of  the  United  States, 
and  openly  to  send  supplies  to  the  besieged 
garrison.  This  last  act  brought  affairs  to  a 
head.  Dewey  was  a  diplomat.  As  such  he 
knew  the  proper  way  to  deal  with  this  particu- 
lar manifestation.     His  message  was: 

"Say  to  Admiral  Von  Diederichs  that  if  he 
wants  a  fight,  he  can  have  it  now ! " 

Von  Diederichs  wanted  the  fight.  But  he 
did  not  want  any  unknown  quantities  about  it. 
So  he  sent  over  to  the  English  commander. 
Captain  Chichester,  riding  at  anchor  in  the 
vicinity,  and  asked  what  he  would  do  if  Von 
Diederichs  interfered  with  Dewey.  Chiches- 
ter's answer  was  discouraging,  a  naval  corol- 
lary to  Sir  Julian's  diplomacy.     It  was  to  the 


276        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

effect  that  he  knew,  and  that  Dewey  knew, 
what  he  would  do. 

To  test  this  remark  the  German  lined  up  in 
menacing  array  when  Dewey  steamed  in  to 
open  the  attacks  on  the  forts.  Chichester, 
smiling,  pulled  up  anchor,  and  casually  sailed 
in  between. 

Diplomacy  is  no  less  diplomacy  because  it 
is  conducted  on  shipboard  and  not  in  a  cabinet 
in  the  Wilhelmstrasse. 

The  first  warning  signal  was  in  Samoa. 
The  second  at  Manila.  On  the  third  occasion 
the  Kaiser  had  the  rank  misfortune  to  have 
Theodore  Roosevelt  to  deal  with.  In  such  af- 
fairs Roosevelt  has  nothing  in  common  with 
"the  reign  of  chatter."  Congress  never  found 
this  out  until  years  later  when  the  facts  were 
published  in  the  "Life  of  John  Hay." 

To  the  Prussian  mind  a  particularly  favour- 
able occasion  had  arisen  for  a  test  of  the 
Monroe  Doctrine.  Their  invariable  formula 
for  acquiring  any  desirable  property,  followed 
to  the  letter  in  all  of  their  little  defensive  en- 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    277 

terprises  including  the  bombardment  of  Bel- 
grade, is  very  clever.  It  ought  to  hoodwink 
and  satisfy  everybody.  It  is  an  astonishing 
thing  that  it  does  not.  No  German  can  under- 
stand it.  Take  any  demand,  provided  it  is 
absolutely  unreasonable,  frame  it  in  the  most 
arrogant  and  lordly  manner  possible,  and  throw 
it  into  the  territory.  If  it  is  not  acquiesced  in 
by  sunset,  march  a  "defensive"  army  into  the 
place,  or  start  a  "defensive"  bombardment. 
What  could  be  more  reasonable,  or  more  con- 
vincing? Particularly  since  objection  on  the 
part  of  any  one  is  conclusive  proof  that  he  be- 
longs to  an  inferior  race. 

Venezuelans  owed  the  Germans  some  money. 
The  Germans  had  "claims"  against  them. 
Claims  constitute  the  principal  commodity  as 
well  as  supply  the  principal  topic  of  all  talk — 
social,  pohtical,  or  merely  casual — in  this  inter- 
esting country.  But  even  a  Venezuela  claim 
has  this  in  common  with  the  ordinary  variety. 
It  has  two  sides.  It  is  capable  of  producing  a 
difference  of  opinion  concerning  its  validity 


278        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

and  volume.  Of  course,  any  one  will  have  to 
agree,  however,  that  a  claim  held  by  the  Kaiser 
is  another  matter.  For,  obviously,  there  exists 
no  living  himian,  not  to  mention  Venezuelan 
being,  capable  of  doubting  the  Kaiser's  de- 
cision upon  any  subject,  much  less  a  claim. 
Since  Venezuela  had  the  audacity  to  delay  and 
dispute  payment  a  great  opportunity  had  ar- 
rived. Out  went  the  demand,  and  hard  upon 
it  came  the  invincible  Armada. 

John  Hay,  Secretary  of  State,  taking  note 
of  this  aflPair,  pointed  out  that  the  United 
States  had  an  ancient  rule,  by  which  they  set 
great  store,  to  the  effect  that  no  excuse  would 
do  for  invading  American  soil.  The  Kaiser 
politely  replied  that  if  he  found  it  necessary 
to  take  Venezuelan  territory  it  would  only  be 
for  "temporary"  occupation. 

In  an  appendix  to  Mr.  William  Roscoe 
Thayer's  Life  of  John  Hay,  Mr.  Roosevelt 
describes  what  happened  then  as  follows: 

"I  also  became  convinced  that  Germany  in- 
tended to  seize  some  Venezuelan  harbour  and 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    279 

turn  it  into  a  strongly  fortified  place  of  arms, 
on  the  model  of  Kiauehau,  with  a  view  to  ex- 
ercising some  degree  of  control  over  the  future 
Isthmian  Canal,  and  over  South  American  af- 
fairs generally. 

"For  some  time  the  usual  methods  of  diplo- 
matic intercourse  were  tried.  Germany  de- 
clined to  agree  to  arbitrate  the  question  at  is- 
sue between  her  and  Venezuela,  and  declined 
to  say  that  she  would  not  take  possession  of 
Venezuelan  territory,  merely  saying  that  such 
possession  would  be  ''temporary" — which 
might  mean  anything.  I  finally  decided  that 
no  useful  purpose  would  be  served  by  further 
delay,  and  I  took  action  accordingly.  I  as- 
sembled our  battle  fleet  (there  were  more  than 
fifty  ships  including  every  battleship  and  de- 
stroyer we  had),  under  Admiral  Dewey,  near 
Porto  Rico,  for  "manoeuvres,"  with  instruc- 
tions that  the  fleet  should  be  kept  in  hand  and 
in  fighting  trim,  and  should  be  ready  to  sail  at 
an  hour's  notice.  The  fact  that  the  fleet  was 
in  West  Indian  waters  was  of  course  generally 


280        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

known ;  but  I  believe  that  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  and  Admiral  Dewey,  and  perhaps  his 
Chief  of  Staff,  and  the  Secretary  of  State, 
John  Hay,  were  the  only  persons  who  knew 
about  the  order  for  the  fleet  to  be  ready  to  sail 
at  an  hour's  notice.  I  told  John  Hay  that  I 
would  now  see  the  German  Ambassador,  Herr 
von  HoUeben,  myself,  and  that  I  intended  to 
bring  matters  to  an  early  conclusion.  Our 
navy  was  in  very  efficient  condition,  being  su- 
perior to  the  German  navy. 

"I  saw  the  Ambassador,  and  explained  that 
in  view  of  the  presence  of  the  German  squad- 
ron on  the  Venezuelan  coast  I  could  not  per- 
mit longer  delay  in  answering  my  request  for 
an  arbitration,  and  that  I  could  not  acquiesce 
in  any  seiziu*e  of  Venezuelan  territoiy.  The 
Ambassador  responded  that  his  Government 
could  not  agree  to  arbitrate,  and  that  there  was 
no  intention  to  take  "permanent"  possession  of 
Venezuelan  territory.  I  answered  that  Kiau- 
chau  was  not  a  "permanent"  possession  of  Ger- 
many's— that  I  understood  that  it  was  merely 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    281 

held  by  a  ninety-nine  years'  lease;  and  that  I 
did  not  intend  to  have  another  Kiauchau,  held 
by  similar  tenure,  on  the  approach  to  the 
Isthmian  Canal.  The  Ambassador  repeated 
that  his  government  would  not  agree  to  arbi- 
trate. I  then  asked  him  to  inform  his  govern- 
ment that  if  no  notification  for  arbitration  came 
within  a  certain  specified  number  of  days  I 
should  be  obliged  to  order  Dewey  to  take  his 
fleet  to  the  Venezuelan  coast  and  see  that  the 
German  forces  did  not  take  possession  of  any 
territory.  He  expressed  very  grave  concern, 
and  asked  me  if  I  realized  the  serious  conse- 
quences that  would  follow  such  action;  conse- 
quences so  serious  to  both  countries  that  he 
dreaded  to  give  them  a  name.  I  answered  that 
I  had  thoroughly  counted  the  cost  before  I  de- 
cided on  the  step,  and  asked  him  to  look  at  the 
map,  as  a  glance  would  show  him  that  there 
was  no  spot  in  the  world  where  Germany  in 
the  event  of  a  conflict  with  the'United  States 
would  be  at  a  greater  disadvantage  than  in  the 
Caribbean  Sea. 


282        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

"A  few  days  later  the  Ambassador  came  to 
see  me,  talked  pleasantly  on  several  subjects, 
and  rose  to  go.  I  asked  him  if  he  had  any  an- 
swer to  make  from  his  government  to  my  re- 
quest, and  when  he  said  no,  I  informed  him  that 
in  such  event  it  was  useless  to  wait  as  long  as  I 
had  intended,  and  that  Dewey  would  be  or- 
dered to  sail  twenty-four  hours  in  advance  of 
the  time  I  had  set.  He  expressed  deep  appre- 
hension, and  said  that  his  government  would 
not  arbitrate.  However,  less  than  twenty-four 
hours  before  the  time  I  had  appointed  for 
cabling  the  order  to  Dewey,  the  Embassy  noti- 
fied me  that  His  Imperial  Majesty  the  Ger- 
man Emperor  had  directed  him  to  request  me 
to  undertake  the  arbitration  myself.  I  felt, 
and  pubhcly  expressed,  great  gratification  at 
this  outcome,  and  great  appreciation  of  the 
course  the  German  Government  had  finally 
agreed  to  take.  Later  I  received  the  consent 
of  the  German  Government  to  have  the  arbi- 
tration undertaken  by  the  Hague  Tribunal, 
and  not  by  me.*' 


IN  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY    283 

Von  HoUeben  was  recalled  in  disgrace  by  the 
Kaiser  and  dismissed  from  the  Diplomatic 
Service. 

There  is  one  othier  interesting  side  light  on 
this  whole  affair.  In  the  American  navy  there 
were  then  as  there  are  now  many  officers  with 
German  names  and  lineage.  They  were  then 
as  now  patriotic  Americans  and  Mr.  Roosevelt 
took  particular  pains  that  in  so  far  as  their 
naval  fitness  allowed  these  men  were  in  service 
on  the  battle  fleet  under  Dewey  so  that  the 
Kaiser  might  get  the  most  unmistakable  evi- 
dence that  any  dependence  he  placed  on  hy- 
phenism  here  would  cost  him  dear. 

These  matters,  and  many  more — such  as  the 
thwarted  effort  of  the  Kaiser  to  establish  a 
naval  base  at  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and  his  abortive  attempt  to  purchase 
two  "private"  harbours  on  the  Pacific  Ocean — 
these  matters  and  many  more  constitute  the 
working  basis  upon  which  American  distrust 
of  the  protagonists  of  "Kultur"  was  built,  long 
before   the  Lusitania,    Those   interested   in 


284        DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 

John  Hay's  keen  perception  of  the  danger 
should  read  the  chapter  of  William  Roscoe 
Thayer's  life  of  the  great  statesman,  who 
"would  rather  be  the  dupe  of  China  than  the 
chum  of  the  Kaiser."  It  shows  that  he  put 
his  finger  on  each  and  every  certain  sign  of 
Teuton  duplicity  and  propaganda,  not  forget- 
ting the  German- American  traitors  enrolled 
under  Prince  Henry's  banner.  Of  these  he 
said: 

"The  prime  motive  of  every  German- Ameri- 
can is  hostility  to  every  country  in  the  world, 
including  America,  which  is  not  friendly  to 
Germany.  *  *  *  " 

It  is  small  wonder,  that  knowing  what  he 
knew,  Roosevelt  wanted  no  time  wasted  wait- 
ing for  "proofs."  Proofs  a-plenty  had  been 
written  large  before  ever  a  gun  was  fired. 


THE  END 


:KHE  country  life  PRE88 
GARDEN  CITY,  N.  Y. 


fi 


^B  06452 


